Plan to expand video surveillance in Columbia takes a step forward

WISTV
Jan. 26, 2006

(Columbia) January 25, 2006 - The long arm of the law is about to get a set of eyes to go with it. A plan to expand and tie together video surveillance in the City of Columbia took a step forward on Wednesday.

Police Chief Dean Crisp is steering the committee that's been looking at ways to get all-seeing eyes up and running around town. It's a project that's in the early stages, and a number of questions have to be addressed: Where will the cameras go? Who, if anyone, will monitor them? Will they store video, and if so, for how long?

There are already security cameras operating in nine locations, but there's no central system tying them together. This plan would change that.

Wednesday's presentation formally puts the ball in city council's court, so to speak. Councilman Sam Davis in particular argues for cameras in residential areas to cut down on crime. They'll have to decide where they'll go, and why.

That's something that might concern some people protective of their privacy, but Crisp says it's worked in the past, and he doesn't see it as a secret operation, "We're going to encourage the council today to be very open in what they do with the camera system, allow a great deal of public input and give everybody a chance to have a voice in it. "

Council has agreed to start letting city staff take bids on different systems. There is a lot of technology out there and sifting through what might be right for this city will take some time.

City Manager Charles Austin says about 45 days from now, they will have more information and can come back to council with options. They want a digital system and they want to divide it between commercial areas and residential areas.