Crime-fighting cameras a bust
[From Crime-fighting cameras a bust | CharlotteObserver.com]
A few months ago, I pointed out the problems in Chicago with Project Shield. A similar occurence has happened in Durham, NC.
DURHAM Police hoped that the cameras lined up along Angier Avenue would be the latest technology to help them fight crime. They had visions of not only capturing criminals in the act on video, but also controlling the cameras remotely from police cars to keep ever-present eyes on the street.
But so far, after months of work, the video surveillance program has not produced one arrest and its future is uncertain.
Documents obtained by The News & Observer – e-mails between city officials and TelePort Systems Inc., the Baltimore based company that installed the system – detail a project filled with missed deadlines, recurring technological problems and complaints from police officers and city officials.
TelePort’s contract ended in October after the city spent over $90,000 on the project. What the city got was a system of 13 cameras where only six are used for their intended purpose.
Camera systems are complex from a technological, economic, and organizational perspective. Cities that don’t remember this will run into problems using cameras.
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