DC’s Camera Network
An investigative piece on the cameras in DC. It offers a nice bit of history on the DC cameras which has grown to 5,200 cameras which can be monitored live. I once considered DC a model for other cities based on its openness in regards to polices with cameras. However, as the article shows, the city has become more secretive and aggressive in its use of cameras.
The article discusses the lack of effectiveness of the DC camera network.
In the fall of 2007, in response to a FOIA request by the ACLU, the police admitted that surveillance footage had never been used to make an arrest from the start of the program to March 2007 (when the request was filed). Hughes subsequently insisted the cameras have been useful since then—they provided evidence that contributed to two arrests.
The department’s 2007 annual camera report, released early in 2008, says investigators viewed images 532 times and recovered 144 useful bits of video. One camera captured images the report says became “vital evidence” leading to the arrest of a murder suspect.
The department has not yet released an annual camera report for 2008—not that the year didn’t provide some camera moments worth reporting.
The final bit I liked was the view of citizens for the cameras:
The department’s cameras are good for at least one very significant thing: public relations. Residents routinely demand camera installment near shady alleys and troubled side streets in the wake of crime waves. Last year, the mother of a man who’d been shot to death demanded that the mayor apologize for the city’s failure to catch the perp. If the city can pay for traffic cams, it can pay for crime cams, the woman said.
“What’s the difference in the price to put a camera up to catch someone speeding and putting a camera up to catch a killer?” she asked the mayor.
“Regular citizens want those crime cameras up,” says D.C. police union boss Kris Baumann, who never hesitates to criticize the department. Because citizens like cameras, Baumann says rank-and-file cops like them, too. A new camera and its accompanying signage give citizens a tangible piece of evidence that the department is trying to help the neighborhood.
Recent Comments