Federal Funding Will Now Help Expand Kent County Security Camera Program

Federal funding is now helping expand a growing security camera program in Kent County.

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, who represents Grand Rapids and surrounding communities, announced a $750,000 federal appropriation for the Kent Safety Network. The program was previously referred to as Connect Kent County and is operated through the Kent County Sheriff’s Office.

The Kent Safety Network is designed to give deputies access to surveillance footage during active incidents. Schools and businesses can voluntarily choose to provide a live feed of their security cameras directly to the sheriff’s office. If something serious happens, those feeds can be pulled into the department’s Realtime Intelligence Center and viewed alongside dash camera, body camera and drone footage from deputies who are responding.

Sheriff’s officials say the goal is to improve real time awareness and response during emergencies.

Importantly, officials say there are guardrails in place. If deputies need to review footage later as part of a criminal investigation, they must follow the appropriate legal framework, they can’t just go peering through anyone’s camera. According to the sheriff’s office, data inside the Realtime Intelligence Center is owned and controlled by local law enforcement, and access is credentialed, audited and restricted to legitimate public safety uses.

The program also allows homeowners to participate, but in a different way. Residents will not be providing live access to their home cameras. Instead, they can choose to add their cameras to a voluntary registry. If a crime occurs in their area, deputies can send a notification to those registered homeowners with a link that allows them to upload relevant footage if they choose.

The $750,000 in federal support comes through Community Project Funding, which allows members of Congress to direct federal dollars to specific government or nonprofit projects within their districts. Scholten said the Kent Safety Network was one of 15 projects she selected to receive funding.

The program is not fully online yet, but the additional funding is expected to help move it forward.

As the Kent Safety Network continues to roll out, it will likely spark conversations about both public safety and privacy. For now, county leaders say the focus is on giving law enforcement another tool to respond quickly when emergencies happen.