Always someone watching

By DENISE ALLABAUGH
The Citizens Voice
Dec. 10, 2006

WILKES-BARRE — Everyone on Public Square is being watched through a tower of surveillance cameras.

Many people say the cameras make them feel safer and deter crime downtown, while civil liberty advocates argue they are an invasion of privacy.

The cameras on Public Square were installed as a test system at a minimal cost to the city to increase security downtown, said City Administrator J.J. Murphy. The city only paid for the shipping costs for these cameras, he said.

Elsewhere in the city, nine surveillance cameras were installed in city hall and nine in the Department of Public Works Garage. The city purchased the cameras earlier this year from Interlogic Technologies for $9,850.

Mayor Tom Leighton said he can monitor the cameras in city hall from a television in his office. Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Gerry Dessoye and Murphy would not say who else is watching the surveillance tapes.

Hidden cameras also were installed in other city locations, which Murphy and Dessoye would not identify.

“We will not disclose all the locations and who is monitoring them. That’s why it’s a security system,” Murphy said. “We don’t want people to know who’s looking at them, when and how often. If people aren’t doing anything wrong, they have nothing to worry about.”

Signs in city hall inform people that surveillance cameras are in place, but there are no signs in “troublesome” neighborhoods where cameras were installed, Murphy said.

“There are some cameras you see, but some you don’t see. It’s the same way in banks,” Murphy said.

Wilkes-Barre resident Tim Grier recently attended a city council meeting and submitted written requests asking for the locations of surveillance cameras. He also asked who can view images captured by the cameras, how long the images are stored and what measures are being taken to ensure the images are not “misused.”

City officials were “evasive” in their answers, said Grier, who created the Web site www.unamericanluzernecounty.org.

“While bringing new business to the city is important for revitalization, ignoring the civil liberties of the average citizens, who make up the bulk of the tax base, most likely repels as many individuals as these pro-business policies attract,” Grier said.

Larry Frankel, legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union, argues there is no clear evidence that surveillance cameras improve security. When cameras are in public places, that limits people’s rights to privacy, he said. He asked who decides where the cameras should be.

“There are those who say they aren’t accomplishing what they’re supposed to,” Frankel said. “The government ought to study if they really are helpful for how much they cost or can other measures be taken to make people feel safer.”

Although no statistics were available showing surveillance cameras improve security, Dessoye said he has been an investigator long enough to know the first thing police check at a crime scene is surveillance cameras.

“I think the more cameras, the better. If you commit a crime and you’re on camera, it’s a lot easier to identify you and prove the crime,” Dessoye said. “I wish the whole downtown was covered with them. I wish the whole city was covered with them. If I don’t want someone to see me, I won’t go where the cameras are and I hope criminals think the same way.”

Robert Finlay, president of Humford Equities, pays for surveillance cameras at the downtown locations he owns, including 15 Public Square, 39 Public Square, Midtown Village and the state Labor and Industry Building. Signs tell the public that these surveillance cameras are in place.

Finlay has turned over many tapes to police. Thanks to these tapes, police were able to nab juveniles who desecrated the state Department of Labor and Industry building with graffiti. Cameras helped police catch two purse snatchers, Finlay said. Detectives are reviewing Finlay’s tapes to look for a man who has been stealing laptop computers from downtown office buildings, he said.

Downtown Wilkes-Barre business owners interviewed said they are in favor of surveillance cameras.

Ron Romanoski, owner of the new Fuse martini club, said he feels secure with Midtown Village covered in surveillance cameras.

“I personally believe a system has to be set up with Big Brother watching,” Romanoski said. “It brings a sense of security to residents, but we also need to watch crossing boundaries of people’s private lives.”

Joseph (Tex) Clauss, owner of Campus Square Billiards, was unaware that surveillance cameras were on Public Square until a reporter told him about the tower. He doesn’t see cameras as an invasion of privacy, but he was quick to add, “If the bad guys know they’re there, they’re a good thing.”

“Basically, they patrol the streets,” Clauss said. “They should act as a deterrent.”

More cameras will be installed in the future when the city establishes wireless Internet service, Murphy said.

“It’s a different society we live in today,” Murphy said. “We are going have an extensive camera network set up in the city so people have an additional safety mechanism. Ultimately, this is what is going to separate Wilkes-Barre from other towns our size. “

Scranton is following in Wilkes-Barre’s footsteps. Installation of security cameras in Scranton is expected to begin early next year, city officials said. Siemens Building Technologies, of Buffalo Grove, Ill., was awarded a $219,985 contract for installation work.