Posted on 08/22/2002 11:52:27 AM PDT by PJeffQ
Surveillance cameras will 'patrol' city
Cameras will be mounted in USC, Five Points, other areas; monitored by police on patrol
By JEFF WILKINSON
Staff Writer
Columbia police will begin installing surveillance cameras on the streets of Five Points and several other areas of the city as early as October.
And City Council has agreed to buy $500,000 worth of new street lighting for the University Neighborhood adjacent to the Five Points commercial district.
The two initiatives are needed to improve public safety around USC and Five Points - a need demonstrated by last year's shooting death of federal prosecutor Michael Messer, city officials said.
But City Council passed no ordinance governing where the cameras could be placed or how the information could be used. The city already operates three cameras, one in Finlay Park and two in undisclosed residential areas.
But civil liberties groups are concerned about the expanded use of the surveillance technique.
"We don't want a Big Brother way of doing things in South Carolina," said Laverne Neal, executive director of the S.C. branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. "I don't know if this is something we want to see in the city of Columbia. And at least there should be some kind of policy regulating that type of information."
City Council member Jim Papadea, who had pressured the police to move forward with the controversial plan, said cameras would be placed in public rights of way to view public areas.
"They would observe just as you or I would if we were standing on a street corner," he said. "It's just like a news photographer taking a picture on a public street."
Papadea said he would be willing to develop an ordinance governing how the cameras are used, if needed.
The cameras initially would be installed in the Five Points/King Park and Arsenal Hill/Finlay Park areas and at points along Garners Ferry Road and North Main Street.
City manager Leona Plaugh said those areas don't represent high-crime areas. But they are urban commercial and park areas suited to this type of surveillance.
"They become extra eyes and ears for the police," she said.
Police Chief Charles Austin wouldn't say where the cameras would be located or how many would be placed in each area.
But he said if they were effective in deterring crime or catching criminals, City Council might decide later to place more of them in other parts of the city.
"Once we assess the effectiveness of these cameras, we can begin putting them in other areas," he said.
Dennis Hiltner, president of the Five Points Merchants Association, said the organization hasn't taken an official position on the cameras. Some members have privacy concerns, though, he said.
"But they are a minority. I don't see those arguments as valid," Hiltner said. "The cameras, just by their presence, are a deterrent to crime."
Messer, from Chicago, was shot while walking through the University Neighborhood with another prosecutor who was training with him at USC's National Advocacy Center.
"We've had one tragedy after another, some more publicized than others," City Council member Anne Sinclair said. "We have people jumping out of the bushes. Homes being entered."
Council members acknowledged the amount of money being funneled into the USC area for lighting and surveillance is higher than for other areas of the city.
But they said it's needed because of the number of students who travel on foot there.
"We hold the university and that neighborhood to a higher standard (on zoning, preservation and other issues), and we need to treat that neighborhood with a higher standard" of city services, Sinclair said.
The cameras, installation and training cost $117,000. City Council on Wednesday approved the purchase of 12 cameras.
The cameras, mounted to poles or buildings, would be connected to monitors in patrol cars, so officers could respond quickly should they see something suspicious. Officers also can control the tilt and rotation of the cameras from their cars. They also will be able to make the cameras pan and zoom in.
The cameras are capable of storing 30 days' worth of digital images that can be retrieved on a master computer at police headquarters, Papadea said.
The cameras aren't designed to be mobile. But they could be moved to other areas of the city as needs change, Austin said.
USC officials were supportive of the surveillance cameras and worked closely with the University Neighborhood Association to develop the plan to add streetlights in the area.
"I'm gratified and enthusiastic about this plan," USC President Andrew Sorensen said of the lighting plans.
City Council members are still debating how to pay for the $500,000 worth of streetlights.
Under an agreement being finalized between the city and SCANA Corp. over transfer of the area's bus system, the utility would provide $500,000 a year for street lighting, burying power lines and other related projects.
The city would have to match that total to make it available.
City officials said they would determine later whether to use SCANA money to pay for the lighting or use their own funds and free the utility's money for other purposes.
"We have plenty of projects," Mayor Bob Coble said.
The streetlights would be installed on ornamental "Charleston fluted" poles similar to the light fixtures along Gervais Street, city officials said.
Also, area power lines would be buried as part of the project.
No start time has been set for the lighting project.
Till we get those IR upgrades next fall...then it's X-ray vision time! Woo Hoo!
Like a gun, this will become a valuable tool for police/law enforcement. Guns and technology will never arrest crooks, but they sure will help the police who do.
Sorry, but I'm just not that anxious to welcome 1984. People really need to ask themselves what, exactly, is their definition of a police state?
Sorry, but I'm just not that anxious to welcome 1984. People really need to ask themselves what, exactly, is their definition of a police state? For me, one very prevalent feature is the desire to keep a constant watchful eye on the general population. The police are NOT there to prevent crime. The exist only to enforce the law and investigate crimes that have already happened. Charging them with the responsibility, the power, and the authority to do anything more is really opening the door for some horrendous abuses of power.
Which one is more likely to happen if we adopt 21st century security systems? Another 9/11 or 1984?
Will adopting biometrics and survellience secuity guarantee 1984 will happen? No.
Will not adopting biometrics and survellience security guarantee another 9/11. Yes.
You would make a good little Nazi.
It's very poor hygiene for the maintenance of liberty.
Oh, and I thought the story was public camersas were to be limited to catching red light runners? Oh my, maybe they lied?!
It's really sad what this country is coming to. It's getting to the point that I can barely recognize it.
Real cops with real guns probably won't respond any quicker to 911 calls, but you will be able to buy a copy of the video of you snapping off that double tap into the guy who trys to rob you.
It's also just like a Russian babushka or block captain spying on your every move. Sickening.
Americans, are we or aren't we better than the communist countries we suppose ourselves to be above? If so, PROVE IT and start acting like free people!!!
9/11 or 1984? What would be worse?
I'll take 9/11 every 4 months than a 1984 style police state.
It is amazing that people do not understand the danger of the police state.
It's alREADY worse than this!!!
In 2001, abortionists killed ~98,000 in NYC.
Ground all airplane flights in this country.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.