Three neighborhoods will allow Clay County Sheriff's Office to tap into surveillance cams

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — Three homeowners associations will soon allow the Clay County Sheriff’s Office to tap into their surveillance cameras at any time.

Action News Jax reporter Jenna Bourne has a full report on CBS47 and FOX30 at 6: 

On Thursday, The Retreat in Middleburg will be the first HOA to partner with the Sheriff's Office on Clay Community Connect, or C3.

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“It was really a no-brainer,” said HOA president Josh Johnson. “So anywhere from the entrance, to the playground, to the trails, to our empty lots, they’ll have access to all of them. There were no cameras we didn’t want to give them access to.”

Action News Jax reported in May that three businesses have already joined C3.

“We actually had an incident that happened right in the [Middleburg McDonald’s] parking lot all on film,” said Clay Community Connect Program Lt. Jeff Johnson. “Every time we put a camera on, that’s another set of eyes for us – that we don’t have to feed, we don’t have to uniform, we don’t have to give it a car.”

The cameras are meant to help deputies access video of a crime either in real time or shortly after it happens.

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Josh Johnson said he doesn’t believe giving CCSO access to the cameras should cause privacy concerns in the neighborhood.

“I don’t think it’s infringing on anyone’s privacy because none of the cameras are located in a position where they’re going to look at someone’s personal property,” he said.

If you live in Clay County and want more information about getting this program in your neighborhood, call the Sheriff’s Office at 904-264-6512 and request to have a C3 representative contact you.

You can also find more information here.

Cox Media Group