NEW YORK - People beat up, shot and killed - all caught on video. On a daily basis the NYPD puts those violent videos on its social media and also gives them to news outlets.

"Overall I would argue that the proliferation of cameras, the videos that are sent to us have been a major contributing factor of catching perpetrators at times and making the city a safer place," said NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea.

But the NYPD admits some people don't feel safe despite crime statistics showing violence in New York has drastically decreased over the years. A part of the perception of being unsafe could be the very videos police use to catch criminals.

"Something that we use quite frequently in our investigations. Not a thing goes on it seems in New York City that is not captured on video. It is almost like a double edged sword. We are partly responsible, we are spreading this information out on social media," Shea said.

Police say they will continue to release the videos because they are a valuable tool in getting criminals off the streets.

Last year when a gang killed 15-year-old Junior Guzman-Feliz in the Bronx, it was captured on video and it was very disturbing.

Chief Shea says by releasing that video it moved a record number of people to give up information about those responsible.

"That was a viral video obviously  and when that first hit we wound up putting extra people on the phones because that 's how much the call volume was," Shea added.

Then there are phone apps like Citizen that allow people to stream videos of crimes or emergency incidents in progress.

"I think that is a good thing, You take the good with the bad. There's a number of apps available today," said Shea. "Whether it is a car accident, whether it is a dispute or something more serious it is captured. How do we get that information how do we get it into the hands of the investigators that need." 

Community activist Josmar Trujillo says he's concerned some people have the perception that crime is out of control because of an over saturation of violent videos. 

"Now we have social media that is also scaring people and making people feel that there is chaos and mayhem at every turn," said Trujillo. "That's a problem when you have calls for more policing in communities that are already being over policed. You will have a sense that there is more crime so people will call for more policing and that is not necessarily the answer." 

Both Chief Shea and Trujillo admit there's no turning back now when it comes to technology, but just a matter of how you use it in fighting crime.