ALAMEDA — Police have launched “We S.E.E.,” a program aimed at helping officers locate people’s security cameras that may have captured evidence and hence could help them solve crimes across the Island.

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Typically when a crime occurs, officers check with nearby residents and businesses to determine if camera footage is available.

What officers have learned is that many Alameda businesses are equipped with security cameras. They also have discovered that, as technology advances, residents and others are adding video doorbells and similar surveillance equipment to their properties. This has prompted police to launch the new program.

Alameda police said last year alone security footage helped officers investigate package thefts and a “peeping tom,” as well as with an investigation of an assault with a deadly weapon.

“We S.E.E.,” or “We Share Electronic Evidence,” is a voluntary program in which individuals and businesses can register the location of their camera with Alameda police.

The registered information will only be shared with Alameda police and will only include where a camera is located, according to the Alameda Police Department. The registry will also provide no other information about someone’s security system, the department reported.

Alameda police will contact people who register if a review of their footage could assist in crime solving. The effort by Alameda police to get video help from the public “is the wave of the future,” said Alameda County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Kelly, whose agency is reviewing whether to start a similar registry.

Law enforcement agencies around the state and country are adopting such registries. Martinez police Chief Manjit Sappal said there is no downside to having access to evidence collected by a few hundred video cameras.

“The more information available, the better the outcomes, no matter what the issue is,” Sappal said.

The Martinez, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek police departments already have had discussions about establishing such registries, but there are no firm plans yet.

Concord Police Department’s Lt. James Nakayama said his agency is expected to launch a registry program within the next few months. It will be a matter of activating the software that records names, addresses and phone numbers, he said.

Former reporter Sam Richards contributed to this story.