Front doorsteps may seem like mundane territory, but BBC One’s new series, Doorbell Detectives, aims to show just how much drama—and crime-solving potential—can be found on a welcome mat. Premiering Monday at 2:00 PM, the series launch kicks off with a trip to Greater Manchester, where Matt Allwright meets a neighborhood watch group who call themselves, appropriately enough, the “doorbell detectives.” Their weapon of choice isn’t a magnifying glass, but the combined power of their smart doorbells, which recently helped take down a local criminal.
Allwright also sits down with former police inspector Anton Sullivan to break down best practices for home security tech. This includes how to use and, crucially, not abuse the surveillance potential of digital doorbells. The series also highlights a more personal case, as the son of a vulnerable pensioner describes how footage from a doorbell camera prevented his father from being scammed by a group of grifters.
With privacy concerns around surveillance tech only growing, Doorbell Detectives looks to walk a tricky line: spotlighting the benefits of such devices without downplaying the potential downsides.
Doorbell Detectives premieres Monday, 2 June at 2:00 PM on BBC One.
