ROCKY RIVER, Ohio — Ring doorbell footage can help police solve crimes. But now, officers can’t request videos inside the company’s Neighbors App. That video-sharing tool no longer exists.
It was a welcome tool for police agencies in Northeast Ohio. Videos would help narrow down when a crime happened and who to look for.
It’s not hard to spot Ring cameras on any given street in Rocky River, one of the communities that participated in the service.
Three years ago, police set up with Ring the ability to request vidoes from subscribers who opted in.
“It did look like it could be potentially helpful it just didn’t pan out,” Rocky River Police Chief George Lichman said.
Lichman said that he doesn’t recall his officers ever using it.
Ring has taken away the tool where police could easily request and receive videos in its Neighbors App.
Police can still use the app to post about investigations and updates. However, they need to direct people to an email or digital sharing method to access their video.
“This doesn’t entirely close off access to Ring footage or data entirely,” ACLU Spokesman Gary Daniels said.
Daniels says the change though is a small victory for privacy advocates who have questions and concerns about how the data is used.
“The problem though is really that today, 2024, whether it’s in Ohio or cities in Ohio or nationwide, it’s really still the wild west out there with how this data is used, collected, stored and who it’s shared with,” Daniels said. News 5 Investigators spoke with several police chiefs in northeast Ohio who called it a beneficial tool, but it was used little when they could go out door to door and ask people if they could use their video.
Along with Rocky River, Mayfield Heights, Amherst and Medina police departments participated. Akron began a Ring pilot safety program last summer, where the city gave out more than 400 cameras in three crime hot spots.
Mayfield Heights' police chief said that the tool was helpful in a child enticement case and a random shooting, but it hasn't been used much recently.
Medina’s chief said that the change is unfortunate, but it was rarely used and will have little impact.
The Amherst Police Department said that the program was beneficial, but the change makes things more difficult.
But Lichman said that his department never got into a habit of using the service.
“I understand the notion, but I can’t agree there are privacy issues—the police never had access to anyone’s video without them sharing it; we didn’t have access to a list of subscribers who opted in,” Lichman said. “Because if we relied on that app or on that service, we might miss people who had cameras from companies that were not Ring or opted not to sign in."
Or he says miss out on potential witnesses.
“Who doesn’t have a camera but maybe saw something valuable,” Lichman said.
Ring said that its legal process for videos remains the same.
The ACLU says more needs to be done in Ohio to regulate how data is used and shared.
