Mayor Opposes Cameras For The Sake Of Having Cameras

Palm Beach Post
Dec. 12, 2005

As police move to make West Palm Beach the most closely monitored city in South Florida, the mayor says she is adopting a skeptical stance.

The police department is trying out four high-tech surveillance cameras and says it hopes to install as many as 100 throughout the city over the next two years.

The network of cameras may prove to be controversial. Mayor Lois Frankel says she is keeping “an open mind” about the plans but wants to see solid proof that they deter crime before supporting an expansion.

“Having cameras for the sake of having cameras, I would be against,” she said in an interview.

But Frankel added that “there’s a good argument to be made that it might be worth the infringement on privacy.”

Some say the cameras will be a valuable law-enforcement tool. They point to positive results with similar neighborhood surveillance systems in cities like Chicago and Baltimore.

Others worry that the cameras — which can cost $17,000 — will be a waste of money and erode the public’s reasonable expectation of privacy.

Frankel said “the law allows a balancing act,” but that it would be hard to justify installing dozens of cameras throughout the city unless the impact on crime is evident.

“If it prevents one crime a year, I’d say it’s not worth it,” she said.

Frankel and the city commission are likely to debate the issue once the first four cameras have been activated and are operating.

“After it’s up and running for a while, we will analyze the data and have a discussion,” she said.