CitiWatch surveillance network now includes more than 530 cameras
BY SIW EDITORIAL STAFF
SecurityInfoWatch.com
Updated: 08-10-2011 8:51 am
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake recently announced that the city will be expanding its CitiWatch surveillance camera network with the help of federal and state grants.
The addition of 12 new cameras along Pennsylvania Avenue will bring the total numbers of cameras in the network to 538. Sixty new cameras have been added to the network during the mayor’s first 18 months in office.
"Our CitiWatch program has been instrumental in supporting the work of the men and women of the Baltimore Police Department to reduce violent crime. The cameras are a force-multiplier that enable us to do more to protect the citizens of Baltimore," Rawlings-Blake said in a statement. "I want to thank our state, federal and local partners for their support of this vital crime prevention tool."
In 2010, the CitiWatch camera program assisted in over 1,200 arrests, 125 of which were for violent crimes such as robberies, assaults and illegal gun possession.
Houston surveillance network ties together hundreds of cameras
Critics express concerns over privacy, potential for abuse
BY JAMES PINKERTON
The Houston Chronicle
Updated: 08-9-2011 2:40 pm
Sitting behind a stacked bank of monitors in a small conference room, Houston senior police officer Joe Mireles can survey much of the city's central business district with a click of his mouse. One screen watches a group of children excitedly splashing through the waterworks at Tranquillity Park, while another zooms in on foot traffic outside the Dollar Store at Main and Walker. One monitor displays a live feed from along Metro's light rail line, and the adjacent screen spies on a quiet corner of Eleanor Tinsley Park. Mireles has tapped into the city's fast-growing surveillance camera network that has been installed by the Mayor's Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security, one that has received far less attention than the controversial red-light camera system.
So far, drawing on $14 million in federal grants, the office has installed 330 cameras, of which 266 are providing live feeds to the city network. That network is also tied into 260 cameras installed inside City Hall and other city buildings.
TranStar cameras on freeways and Metro's rail-line surveillance are also hooked up to the system. Next stop is reaching an agreement to tie into security cameras monitoring streets in the Texas Medical Center, officials said.
Chief Dennis Storemski, a former HPD executive chief who runs the mayor's public safety office, describes the current system as "a work in progress'' and envisions a hybrid government and private network that can command the collective view of thousands of surveillance cameras.
"So as long as I get money, I'm going to keep putting cameras up - there is not a targeted number," said Storemski, who notes that New York City's surveillance system utilizes some 2,000 cameras. "So we have a long way to go.''
Houston's journey into the ranks of cities that keep a close watch on their public spaces has been a gradual one - and reviews are mixed. Civil rights activists view the network with suspicion, while others believe it is a worthwhile use of modern technology in a time of tightened budgets.
'Like pets in cages' Mark Bennett, a criminal defense attorney and former president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyer Association, is concerned not only about privacy issues but the potential for abuse.
"I don't like the government having cameras on me every chance they can get," Bennett said. "Human beings should have privacy in their lives, and they shouldn't have to go to seek it out. It should be presumed that our affairs are our own, rather than the government's. We start to feel like pets in cages with Big Brother looking down on us all the time.''
He believes there is a vast risk that city government, or individual employees, could use the system to spy for their own purposes.
"Imagine a police officer who is concerned about what his wife does during the day, and has his buddies set up the cameras to watch her,'' Bennett said. "Having government employees abuse government power for personal purposes is far from unheard of in this town.''
But legal experts say the camera surveillance, which has been approved by the Houston City Council, is completely legal. University of Houston law professor Adam Gersho-witz notes the U.S. Supreme Court has long established that residents cannot expect to enjoy privacy in public places.
"In a world where we've got real budget problems, and the police department is having a hard time keeping things staffed to the extent that certain things be outsourced electronically to allow devices to do some police work, that's not a bad thing,'' Gershowitz said. "The concern is the government doesn't use it for illicit purposes, to track or target people who have done nothing wrong."
The replay option Storemski says the system is primarily designed to guard against terrorist attacks on the city's highest-profile public facilities - including the George R. Brown Convention Center, Minute Maid Park, Reliant Park and the Theater District. While he acknowledged the cameras have not recorded any terrorist activities, he said the network has been useful in everyday law enforcement.
"We don't want to imply that somebody is watching them all the time - we don't have enough eyes to watch all the cameras,'' Storemski said. "The value, from a law enforcement standpoint, is if you do have a crime you can go back and look at it. Hopefully, you'll identify the suspect and help catch him as well as prosecute him.''
Truck theft case
In late June, Houston police caught a man with a truck he had stolen from downtown. HPD officers in the special operations command center downtown reviewed earlier footage they had stored, and spotted the suspect as he walked through parking lots looking for trucks to steal.
When officers confronted the suspect with surveillance video of him previously driving off in a stolen pickup, he admitted to that and five other truck thefts, Officer Mireles said.
"Everything has been nice and quiet, but the system works,'' Mireles said. "If we see someone who looks suspicious, if they're taking photographs of something sensitive, we're catching them."
Indianapolis officials plan to install more security cameras ahead of Super Bowl
Seven more cameras to be added near Lucas Oil Stadium
BY CHRIS SIKICH
The Indianapolis Star
Updated: 08-9-2011 3:13 pm
Aug. 08--Homeland security officials plan to install more security cameras Downtown in time for the Super Bowl.
Sixty-eight cameras are mounted in key areas throughout Downtown. By year's end, officials plan to add seven more near Lucas Oil Stadium and six or more along Georgia Street.
"Any time public-safety improvements are made, it's great for our community," said Dianna L. Boyce, spokeswoman for the 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee. She added that the cameras will benefit residents and visitors.
Gary Coons, chief of the Indianapolis Division of Homeland Security, said the cameras have caught several crimes in progress over the years. They also are mounted in visible places, he said, and so are a deterrent to crime.
"The cameras have helped with investigations, and they have helped out with getting police officers to the scene where crimes are occurring," he said. "A lot of people don't believe they are a prevention, but they really are."
The cameras cost from $3,000 to $5,000, Coons said, and are federally funded.
However, the city will have to pay for maintenance. Coons wasn't sure of that cost, saying the city is seeking proposals for a four-year contract to maintain all of the cameras.
While the cameras may boost safety for the Super Bowl, they will remain in place beyond the big game. And as more funding is available over time, Homeland Security plans to boost the amount of cameras to 100.
The cameras are a welcome addition to Downtown, said Tamara Zahn, president of Indianapolis Downtown Inc.
"With the thousands of people Downtown every day," she said, "public safety is very important. We welcome additional security cameras Downtown.
"Cameras have proven to be an effective tool by providing additional eyes on the street. Also, in the unfortunate situation when a crime does occur, cameras can contribute valuable information."
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