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May 05, 2006

Chicago To Install 70 More Cameras

There were several stories on additional cameras in Chicago last week. This post summarizes the stories in the Sun-Times (1,2) and Tribune(1,2) to provide details about the new cameras and the current state of the Chicago's surveillance network.

1. Existing Camera Network:

• Over 2000 cameras
• Currently 100 “Operation Disruption” cameras installed in high-crime areas with microwave antennas.
• Keep in mind that there are 37,000 intersections in Chicago and roughly 148,000 different corners.
• Have a dozen suitcases for monitoring cameras from crime scenes

2. Adding More 70 Cameras:

• 50 are next generation and are smaller (35 vs. 100 pounds) and cheaper ($20,000 versus $34,000).
• 20 are the older generation.
• Both versions have zoom lenses, night vision capability and the ability to rotate 360 degrees.
• New cameras are upgradeable to gunshot detection, but until the bugs are worked out the city has only 25 cameras with this feature.

3. Effectiveness:

• Since Jan. 30, officers have made 76 camera-related arrests according to statistics provided by the police department.
• Only half the cameras are monitored around the clock.
• The police department now publicly acknowledges that cameras are not enough and just one tool:

Police Supt. Phil Cline said it’s not enough to “simply install a camera” in a high-crime area. Video surveillance needs to be conducted in tandem with other crime reduction strategies — like flooding an area with personnel from a “targeted response unit” or conducting special undercover operations to disrupt open-air drug markets, he said. “When we put up a camera, that means we’re also implementing strategies to ensure that crime simply doesn’t move down the block or around the corner,” Cline said. “We’ve installed cameras in areas where gangs, guns and drugs are most active with one idea: to hit the gangbangers in the pocketbook by disrupting their narcotics trade.”

4. Work Under Development:

• Allow police officers to monitor cameras from their squad cars.
• Testing software that detects “suspicious and unusual behavior.”
• Finalizing contract for “Operation Virtual Shield”, which will link 1,000 miles of fiber into a core network for future security expansion.
• Signing up companies for having their cameras monitored by the 911 center. Currently 50 corporations including Boeing, utilities, and the LaSalle Street financial district have agreed to join the camera network.

Posted by rshah at May 5, 2006 03:09 PM

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