Real-time access by a public authority emergency responder to surveillance video of a privately-controlled source is conditionally pre-authorized dependent on the existence of at least one pre-specified emergency condition, and recorded in a data processing system. A public authority emergency responder subsequently requests real-time access to the surveillance video (e.g., during an emergency), and if the pre-specified emergency condition is met, access is automatically granted, i.e., without the need for manual intervention. A pre-specified emergency condition could, e.g., be an alarm condition detected by a sensor at the site of the video surveillance, or a declared state of emergency, properly declared by an appropriate public official.