Connecting Law Enforcement, Businesses, and Residents Through Secure, Voluntary Video Collaboration
As a Genetec Unified Elite Partner, MCA is dedicated to delivering innovative solutions that promote collaboration between public safety agencies and the communities they serve. A primary challenge for modern law enforcement is gaining comprehensive situational awareness, especially when critical video evidence resides on private systems. Bridging this gap requires a trusted framework that facilitates secure and voluntary cooperation. That’s where Genetec Community Connect can help.
What is Genetec Community Connect™?
Definition: Genetec Community Connect™ is a public-private partnership framework that links private video systems with law enforcement through secure, voluntary participation. The program enables businesses, residents, and institutions to register or share video and ALPR data with local agencies, providing law enforcement with faster access to evidence and real-time visibility.
Genetec Community Connect™ is a public-private collaboration program designed to address safety issues by uniting community stakeholders with policing authorities. It provides the technological framework and operational processes that allow local businesses, institutions, and residents to contribute to public safety voluntarily. By securely linking private security assets with public safety operations, Community Connect enables law enforcement to expand video coverage, retrieve evidence faster, and gain real-time situational awareness.
This initiative is not a single product but a flexible framework that empowers businesses and residents to participate in creating safer neighborhoods. It allows participants to register their cameras, share video feeds, or provide ALPR data at a level of involvement that is comfortable for them. The result is a powerful force multiplier for law enforcement, fostering a more engaged and secure community.
Key Features and Benefits
Definition: Community Connect enhances collaboration, economic vitality, and situational awareness while maintaining participant control and data privacy.
Community Connect is built on a foundation of trust, transparency, and technology, delivering measurable benefits to all participants.
Inclusive Collaboration and Community Engagement
The program fosters dialogue and builds trust between law enforcement and citizens. By providing a voluntary platform for sharing resources, it empowers community members to take an active role in problem-solving. This collaboration provides law enforcement with new visibility into previously unreported crimes and strengthens relationships between the public and private sectors.
Enhanced Livability and Economic Growth
Safer public spaces create more welcoming environments, which can attract more customers, visitors, and new business investments. Studies have shown that strong partnerships with police establish a sense of guardianship that extends security beyond individual storefronts. This reduction in crime leads to healthier business districts and more vibrant, thriving neighborhoods.
Efficient Resource Allocation
Community Connect allows law enforcement to leverage the thousands of existing private security cameras throughout a city, significantly expanding their observational footprint without impacting municipal budgets. Access to video or ALPR intelligence before arriving on the scene provides officers with critical information, helping to reduce incident response times and improve overall officer safety.
Secure, Flexible, and Scalable Integration
The framework is designed to be adaptable. It supports multiple methods of participation, from a simple camera registry to live video federation, ensuring that everyone, from a small shop owner to a large university campus, can contribute. The technology prioritizes security and privacy, enabling participants to maintain complete control over their systems and the information they share.
Core Components and Technical Specifications
Definition: Built on Genetec technologies like Federation™, Stratocast™, and AutoVu™ ALPR, Community Connect unifies diverse video sources into one secure, multi-agency platform.
Community Connect uses a combination of Genetec technologies to create a versatile and powerful collaboration ecosystem.
Federation™
This feature enables a central public safety agency to monitor and manage multiple independent Genetec security systems as if they were a single system. Public and private organizations can share security data, video, and ALPR reads to support both real-time situational awareness and post-incident investigations. At the same time, each participant retains autonomy over their own system.
Camera Registry
The simplest way to participate. Businesses and residents can voluntarily register their camera locations and contact information for free. The video itself is not shared live. Instead, during an investigation, police can request footage from a registered camera owner, who can then securely upload the relevant video files through a cloud-based portal.
Third-Party Video Sharing
To include participants who do not use Genetec systems, the framework supports plug-and-play gateway appliances. These devices can forward ONVIF or RTSP video streams from nearly any local camera system to the central Security Center platform, ensuring broad compatibility.
Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR)
Public and private organizations with AutoVu™ ALPR systems can share their reads and hits. This collaboration significantly expands the reach of investigations by establishing a broader network for tracking vehicles of interest.
Cloud-Based Video Management
For participants without on-premises server infrastructure, Genetec Stratocast™ offers a cloud-based video monitoring solution. Network-enabled cameras can connect directly to the cloud, allowing business owners to monitor their property from anywhere and securely share video feeds with law enforcement.
Real-World Impact: Case Studies from Genetec
The Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council (BYNC) launched a Community Connect initiative to address crime in a bustling retail district. The BYNC subsidized the cost of Genetec Stratocast cloud-connected cameras for local businesses, who then paid a small monthly subscription. This program not only deterred crime but also built a stronger sense of community security.
Through Federation, video feeds from participating businesses were made available to the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC), enabling faster emergency response. According to the Chicago Police Department, the retail district saw a decrease in thefts after the program was implemented. The initiative demonstrates how a public-private partnership can improve safety, increase business, and enhance community confidence.
Note: Genetec supplied this case study. MCA was not directly involved in this project, but is equipped to help other communities and municipalities deploy similar solutions.
Who Needs Genetec Community Connect?
This framework is designed to benefit a wide range of stakeholders working toward a common goal of public safety.
- Law Enforcement Agencies: Gain access to new intelligence streams, shorten investigation cycles, and improve officer safety with better situational awareness.
- Businesses: Protect staff, customers, and assets while contributing to a safer and more attractive commercial environment, potentially reducing losses from crime.
- Community Organizations and Improvement Districts: Improve the quality of life, strengthen neighborhood trust, and achieve safety goals through collaborative, community-driven programs.
- Elected Officials: Increase city-wide livability, attract investment, and demonstrate a commitment to innovative public safety strategies while optimizing the use of public funds.
MCA and Genetec: Building Safer Communities Together
At MCA, we partner with industry leaders like Genetec to deliver proven frameworks that solve critical security and connectivity challenges. Our role extends beyond simply supplying technology; we help you build a successful and sustainable public-private partnership program. We can conduct consultations to assess your district’s needs, design an integration strategy that incorporates existing security systems, and tailor participation models to maximize adoption among businesses and residents.
Our expert teams of certified professionals deliver a full suite of reliable technologies with a service-first approach. Whether Genetec Community Connect is the right framework for your community, or an alternative solution from our carefully researched portfolio better meets your specific needs and budget, MCA acts as your trusted advisor. We are committed to helping you design, deploy, and maintain the solution that best protects and connects your community.
Frequently Asked Questions
Community Connect bridges the gap between private security systems and public-safety operations. It enables businesses and residents to securely share video and ALPR data, thereby improving response times and investigative efficiency.
No. The program is entirely voluntary. Participants choose how much to share – from camera registration only to full live-video federation – and retain control over their systems at all times.
Each participant manages access permissions, and all data exchanges are encrypted. Law enforcement can request or view video only as authorized, maintaining full transparency and auditability.
Community Connect integrates Genetec Federation™, Stratocast™ (cloud VMS), and AutoVu™ ALPR to link multiple systems into one collaborative network.
Businesses gain safer environments, potential reductions in theft and vandalism, and stronger relationships with local authorities—factors that increase community confidence and economic activity.
MCA assists with assessments, stakeholder outreach, and technical deployment. We tailor program design to your city’s size, infrastructure, and privacy requirements.
About MCA
We believe every workplace should be safe, secure, and efficient. As trusted advisors, we deliver integrated communication, connectivity, and security solutions with a Service First mindset – driven by a team that cares deeply about our customers and each other.
Why MCA? At MCA, we help solve critical communication, connectivity, and security challenges with turnkey, integrated system solutions – from two-way radios and in-building wireless to video surveillance, access control, and more. MCA is built from over 50 companies with deep technical expertise and strong local roots. And we’re still growing – expanding our capabilities, our reach, and our team.
Our 100+ Solution Centers bring together sales, installation, service, and customer operations teams to deliver seamless, nationwide support. Guided by our Service First value, we don’t just connect the wires and walk away – we provide customized solutions backed by deep expertise and lifecycle support.
