Police, prosecutors fight over cameras – Baltimore, Maryland
April 15th, 2010
In Baltimore, the camera system of 500 cameras has helped arrest 759 people last year, of which 207 were found guilty of crimes and another 214 have cases pending in the courts. However, prosecutors dropped more than 300 for reasons “ranging from legal insufficient to police officers FTA (failure to appear in court). Most of the criminal cases the cameras are used in are misdemeanor narcotics cases. There are only a few gun violence cases charged.” Of the 229 guilty findings from cameras, 228 were related to drugs and one was related to a murder.
I would suspect similar results in Chicago. I would be curious how often cameras are used in gun violence and murder cases rather than drug convictions.
I’d venture to say that public surveillance cameras are not designed to combat / prevent violent crime. They are most effective for property crime, public disorder issues, vandalism, narcotic, etc.