BILL HANNA Executive Editor VIRGINIA — The City Council on Tuesday sent a message about a recent surge in crime in Virginia — “Criminals, you will be watched — and tracked.” The city will soon have 61 surveillance cameras, situated mostly in unknown locations, that officials hope will serve both as a crime deterrent and also as a police tool for investigations after the bad deeds are done. The council unanimously approved spending $271,735 for the surveillance system that will include cameras, fluidmesh radios and other equipment. The system’s manufacturer is Graybar Electric Co. and it will be installed by Arrowhead Radio & Security, which is a division of Hunt Electric. The Finance Committee’s recommendation was to use money from the Overfunded Police Pension Fund, but councilors decided to have administration look at all funding options. But the plan to have them installed by October will move forward, much to the satisfaction of the mayor and councilors, who have heard plenty of concern from residents lately about public safety in the city. The city’s police chief will determine where the cameras, which will be movable, will be placed. Two of them will be located at the Children’s Memorial Park and the Veteran’s Memorial Park. The cost of $11,633 will be paid by those two organizations. Some specific cameras will be used for license plate recognition. All cameras, which have a three-year warranty, will be monitored at the Virginia Police Department. The radios have a one-year warranty, plus a three-year extended warranty that includes advanced replacement. The software includes free technical support and no annual fees. Police Chief Dennis Benz, a strong supporter of the system, is also planning to put in a 2015 budget request for tablets that will allow officers to have access to the surveillance system while in their patrol vehicles. The Public Utilities could add cameras to the system at any time, should they choose to join in. Councilors Mike Ralston and Nevada Littlewolf both said that when a camera surveillance system was proposed five years ago they would not have been supportive. “But with what we’re experiencing, it’s a good investment now,” Littlewolf said. “The world we live in now ... cameras are everywhere.” “Things have changed. This is now overdue,” Ralston said. “It could slow crime down and provide the ability to find perpetrators more easily.” “I’m looking forward to this system. You can zoom in on license plates. It should cut down on vandalism, too,” said Councilor Carl Baranzelli.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:06:43 +0000
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