Birmingham police are launching a new crime-fighting tool that they hope will put more eyes on criminals.

Residents and business owners with surveillance systems are being asked to allow the city’s Real Time Crime Center access to their footage.

“The more eyes we have in our streets, the more integration with have with cameras, bolsters and empowers our ability to take criminals off the streets,’’ said Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin.

The program – Connect Birmingham – offers two options.

Through camera registry, residents and business owners can register their outdoor home security cameras so that police will know there are cameras at that location should a crime take place nearby.

Camera integration, said police Chief Scott Thurmond, allows homeowners and business owners to share streaming continuously or based on privacy settings.

“That allows for a faster response, allows officers a real time view of what is happening and the nature of the call before they arrive,’’ Thurmond said.

No one’s footage would be accessed without permission.

“We don’t have the time to sit and watch everybody’s cameras and we don’t have the desire to so,’’ Thurmond said. “We do have the desire to reduce crime make more arrests, get victims justice for however they’ve been wronged.”

Thurmond said there about 1,600 police cameras citywide that feed into the Real Time Crime Center.

“We need more,’’ he said.

Police and city officials have been working on Connect Birmingham for about a year.

“We always say we need to the public to be involved, if they see something, say something,’’ Thurmond said. “This is just another way for the public to help. It’s going to take a partnership of all of us working together.”

“We want to make sure that our small business owners feel empowered and know they are a part of addressing public safety in our community,’’ Woodfin said. “The Birmingham Police Department can’t prevent every crime, but this does increase the opportunity to solve crimes. That’s what this program is about.”

More information about Connect Birmingham can be found at https://police.birminghamal.gov/connectbirmingham/.