Seeing who is at the front door before you open it can mean the difference between danger and safety, or even life and death for a domestic violence survivor.
To help victims stay safe and potentially document the presence of an abuser, the state attorney general’s office on Monday announced a partnership with Amazon, which is donating 1,000 Ring doorbell and outdoor video cameras to the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
“When that victim is going through that long, hard journey to survivorship, anything we can all do that helps restore their sense of security, their safety and their peace of mind is so important,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch during a press conference.
The domestic violence coalition will distribute the cameras to the state’s dozen domestic violence service organizations to get them to survivors across Mississippi. Each camera comes with a complimentary subscription that covers the lifetime of the device.
Joy Jones, executive director of the coalition, said the Ring cameras will go to people who have left a shelter and are in independent or transitional housing.
The coalition received the cameras toward the end of last year, and some of the service organizations started giving them out to survivors for Christmas.
“They’re not just cameras,” Jones said. “They’ll help survivors reclaim a sense of control and security in their homes.”
In addition, the donated cameras can help domestic abuse survivors navigate the justice system.
Fitch said the donated cameras could be valuable for survivors who have a domestic abuse protection order and are trying to keep an abuser from getting near them. If that person comes onto their property, the camera could capture the individual’s presence, verifying that the order has been violated.
Ashla Hudson, a member of the domestic violence coalition, sees the donated cameras as a way to help keep victims and survivors aware of their surroundings and support their safety.
She is the mother of Carlos Collins, a nurse who lived in Jackson and was allegedly killed by an ex-partner in April 2024. Hudson said her son’s Ring camera captured footage of his attack, and that video is a key part of the murder case. The first degree murder trial for Marcus Johnson, who allegedly shot Collins multiple times, began Monday in Hinds County Circuit Court.
“If something does happen, (the footage) can strengthen their cases,” Hudson said about how Ring cameras can be useful for survivors.
Fitch is among several attorneys general who have partnered with Ring and domestic violence coalitions to receive donated cameras from the company in recent weeks.
Ring has collaborated with the National Network to End Domestic Violence since 2022. The company has donated nearly $12 million worth of doorbell and outdoor cameras to over 750 nonprofit organizations, said Terreta Rodgers, head of community engagement for Amazon in Mississippi.
The technology company started its donation program in 2021 after learning from a Texas domestic violence organization that reported success with Ring. One of the survivors who received a camera was able to activate her safety plan when her camera alerted her that her abuser was at her residence with a weapon, Rodgers said.
Fitch said she has made domestic violence a priority during her time as attorney general through resources through the office’s Bureau of Victim Assistance, registries for law enforcement and the courts to track domestic violence incidents and protection orders and training for law enforcement to handle domestic violence calls.
