A remarkable number of people have doorbell cameras. Now, the county sheriffs office is hoping to tap into that extra bit of residential security footage as they work to investigate crimes.

As part of its Safe Cities initiative, the department is asking people to let them know if they have security cameras — including those ubiquitous doorbell cameras — so deputies can quickly know who might have been recording and maybe caught something helpful to a case.

We are looking for public assistance in allowing us to use security footage from their cameras to potentially solve crimes, said Lt. Michael Pepin, who heads up the Rancho San Diego substation.

Deputies would not have access to the cameras or the footage. Instead, they would have knowledge that a camera exists and a way to reach out to the owner to ask if they can see what it picked up. Any requests must be for specific investigations, with a case number. The owner can then provide the video to investigators.

This is not big brother trying to spy on people, Pepin said.

The idea is to allow residents and businesses to register with the department, acknowledging they would be willing to share security footage with sheriffs investigators if asked. As of earlier this month, 66 people have signed on.

Safe Cities is the umbrella name of an initiative that adds technology to the departments crime-fighting tool belt, and the sheriffs office has been making the rounds, presenting the pitch to city councils and community groups.

It essentially has two parts. The larger piece is to perch automated license plate readers on poles in unincorporated areas of the county and in cities where the department is contracted to provide law enforcement, such as Imperial Beach, Del Mar and San Marcos. The department runs those cameras and is responsible for both collecting and discarding the footage they capture.

The private security footage registry is the second, smaller piece. Instead of having the detectives go out there on foot, they can canvas a much greater area a lot easier, Pepin said.

There is also a deeper level, known as exclusive users, where businesses can sign up to allow sheriffs investigators to have instant, real-time access to their security footage. It would not be live-monitored because there is not enough staff to do that. Thus far, though, there have been no takers.

Several cities and communities are part of the Safe Cities program. To learn more, visit sdsheriff.gov and navigate to the Community menu, then find your specific Safe community.