Council committee endorses surveillance cameras

By TOM SCHMIDT
Philly.com
Mar. 10, 2006

City Councilman Darrell Clarke's so-called Big Brother initiative - the use of surveillance cameras in public areas to fight crime - got a public hearing yesterday.

At the end, Council's Law and Government Committee recommended the bill, which, if approved by the full Council, would put the surveillance question to voters on the May 16 primary ballot.

Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson withheld an endorsement of the use of cameras throughout the city "since there is insufficient evidence to prove that they do, in fact, reduce crime and promote public safety."

"While surveillance cameras have received a great deal of attention recently, it is still unclear whether cameras alone are truly impacting crime and public safety," Johnson said at the hearing in Council chambers.

"For example, other jurisdictions that have employed surveillance cameras have done so in conjunction with other police initiatives," he added. "Thus, the surveillance cameras may not be the solution proponents are suggesting, but rather a tool in an overall crime-fighting strategy."

However, representatives of the Baltimore and Chicago police departments lauded crime-fighting successes related to the use of surveillance cameras.

Kristen Mahoney, chief of technical services for Baltimore's police department, offered statistics she said showed that cameras had reduced crime in high-crime areas.

She said that 24 cameras installed along one street last August had resulted in a 17 percent reduction in crime and that 32 cameras placed on another street in September had brought about a 42 percent decline in violent crime.

Andrew Velasquez III, executive director of Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications, said that in 2003 the Police Department launched Operation Disruption, a plan to place high-tech cameras in neighborhoods to reduce narcotics activity. It has made neighborhoods safer, he said.

High-tech cameras are mounted on light poles to create a visible deterrent in communities with violent crime, he added. Every unit is equipped with a highly reflective, bulletproof shield, flashing blue lights, the Chicago police logo and a 360-degree pan/tilt/zoom digital camera.

William H. Ewing, a board member of the Greater Philadelphia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, urged the city to move cautiously.

"Several cities have abandoned their surveillance systems," he said. "In this time of tight budgets, taxpayers should not be asked to invest in unproven technology, only to have the system scrapped because it is ineffective."