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A popular doorbell camera company is making it more difficult for police to acceess home surveillance video.
Amazon-owned Ring this week said it will sunset its "Request for Assistance" tool, meaning law enforcement will no longer be able to make mass requests of video footage from residents.
"Having access to this system has certainly has helped us and been beneficial, but in no means is this going to hinder our investigative techniques."
West Palm Beach Police spokesman Mike Jachles tells CBS 12 News that officers can also still obtain a warrant or subpoena. He also hopes residents will register their cameras with the agency. Jachles says detectives will never watch without permission.
Martin County Sheriff's Captain Ruben Romero works in the Criminal Investigations Division. He is also taking the same attitude towards the policy change.
"If they want to volunteer that video they still can do that. It's just one step that is maybe eliminated but we're clever just like criminals are clever and we'll find a workaround to that too."
Romero does admit "you can pretty much name any crime and we've had video cameras from Ring doorbell neighborhoods that have helped us solve those crimes.”
Ring has not given a reason for the change, just saying it is effective this week.