CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — Local business in Clay County are teaming up with the Sheriff’s Office to help stop crime. They’re doing this with new technology called Clay Community Connect or C-3, a program that lets the Clay County Sheriff’s Office tap into their surveillance video.
Using cameras, the Sheriff’s Office it will be able to see and stop crime as it’s happening to better protect the community.
Will Garcia runs the McDonalds on Blanding Boulevard in Middleburg and he was the first business to join Clay Community Connect.
“Having this program and this partnership with the Sheriff’s Office, it just felt like something really important. We’re able to partner with them and help keep our community safe,” Garcia said.
The Sheriff’s Office says they rolled out C-3 a year ago, but so far only three businesses are using it.
The Sheriff’s Office also said they have received a few grants to help pay the $38,000 to implement this program. It added that this cost they is similar to that of hiring a deputy.
Each business owner using this technology pays anywhere between $100 to $200 a month, depending on the vendor they choose.
Sheriff Darryl Daniels say this technology has helped cut down on man power around the county.
“If a crime occurs in an area in or around a location where we have access to these cameras then not only can we see it real time, but we can leverage that footage to get out BOLOS, be on the lookout to additional units, to advise the media of certain people that we’re trying to look for,” Sheriff Daniels said.
Garcia says it gives him piece of mind knowing that the Sheriff’s Office is watching over them, especially when he has employees starting their shifts at all hours of the day.
“Keeping my crew safe is of the utmost importance, and is another step up [for me] as a business owner,” said Garcia.