Technology is an amazing thing.

It helps us every day in countless ways. It lets us see things we can’t, from the smallest objects under a microscope to stars and galaxies billions of light years away.

And even something going on right down the street.

Surveillance cameras are everywhere. On the World Wide Web, they give us a look at places far away.

Store owners use them to look for potential theft. Homeowners use them to see who might be at their front door, or to interact with the family dog while away. In Lehigh County, the district attorney and chiefs of police association launched a countywide crime center they hope will decrease criminal activity, speed investigations and improve general safety in the communities they serve.

Via its Regional Intelligence and Investigation Center, the county has established an online portal where citizens can register their private security cameras to keep an eye on neighborhood crime.

Its premise is simple.

Fusus, as it’s known, links existing public cameras, private cameras, bodycams, dashcams and drones in a cloud-based platform.

Camera owners register their equipment through a computer program. The program maps the camera’s location, enabling investigators to know in an instant if video evidence of an incident is available, where they can find it and who to contact to retrieve it.

Police pledge that any video files provided – and who provided them – will be kept confidential. Registering a camera or camera system doesn’t give police live video access – only the location if a crime occurs.

In the old days, police often went door-to-door asking neighborhood residents if they saw anything that might aid an investigation. As the technology evolved, they’d go door-to-door asking if anyone had video that might help.

The registry simplifies that task. Police know immediately where they can go to find video, speeding up the investigation.

Camera owners have the final say on sharing any video, even if they’ve already signed up for the program.

Owners can upload video files directly to a website if they don’t want a direct connection to investigators.

The platform doesn’t automatically give investigators live video access, but residents or business owners can buy and install a small device on their surveillance network that would feed the pictures to police monitors. The device, which works with virtually all security camera hardware, stores video for as long as the owner wants and only shares it after police get permission.

With the addition of public cameras in problem places, law enforcement can pinpoint something as minor as illegal dumping, monitor vacant properties for potential vandalism or theft and keep an eye out for things like aggressive driving or missing persons.

State police and 17 other departments have already joined the Lehigh County effort. Similar programs are being used by more than 200 municipalities across the nation.

Naysayers contend the platform violates an individual’s civil rights – calling it Orwellian and warning against profiling, especially in large-city crime.

Others rail against privacy violations, claiming that public cameras can see inside private windows across a street. Since the platform has been in place, some communities have dealt with lawsuits, and generally, courts have ruled in favor of Fusus and similar systems.

Cameras today are part of everyday life.

Cellphones, apps and computer software make it easy to share information, whether its audio, video or still photography.

Though it’s shared openly and honestly, criminals sometimes use that information to burglarize a home after a family posts vacation photos or videos. They can grab a child they’ve seen on social media when they’re walking home from school or heading to a playground. The possibilities are endless, and like the technology, always changing.

Platforms like Fusus can help police use technology to keep communities safe, especially in these days when limited resources leave departments understaffed and crime rates are climbing. Saving police precious time gathering evidence gives them a chance at a quick and successful investigation.

Locally, law enforcement in Carbon County – and the communities they serve – can benefit from the cooperation with residents and other departments the Fusus system offers.

At the very least, it’s worth a good, hard look.

Ed Socha is a retired newspaper editor with more than 40 years’ experience in community journalism. Reach him at tneditor@tnonline.com.

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.