Newspaper Page Text
COMMUNITY
Cities say cameras help keep residents safe
BY MELISSA WEINMAN
melissaweinman@reporternewspapers.net
FILE
Surveillance video feeds from cameras installed along major
roads in Sandy Springs will assist officers in combating crime.
Amid the recent controversy sur
rounding national surveillance pro
grams, many may not realize that juris
dictions around metro Atlanta are using
integrated camera systems to record
city-wide security footage.
But proponents say access to video
footage is an invaluable tool for public
safety.
The city of Atlanta and Sandy Springs
already have these systems in place and
the cities of Brookhaven and Dunwoody
are considering them.
Bob Carter is the general manager of
Iron Sky, the company that has helped
to implement these integrated video sys
tems. He said Iron Sky focuses on build
ing networks for public safety technol
ogy-
Video is the most common technol
ogy, but Carter said the company also
uses things like GPS software and li
cense plate readers.
“Our solution is designed to inte
grate with newer and effective technol
ogies as they become available,” Carter
said. “Anything that gives an officer en
hanced situational awareness.”
Terry Suit, Sandy Springs’ Director
of Public Safety, said the city used ex
isting traffic control cameras for its net
work.
“We’re not putting that much mon
ey into cameras, we prefer to use existing
infrastructure and partner with compa
nies that already have cameras in place,”
Suit said. “We’re taking advantage of
those that would be going up for traf
fic management or sharing cameras with
private companies so that we reduce the
>5
cost.
Suit said the system features a Google
map that shows where all the city’s calls
for service are located.
“It shows where your patrol cars are
on the map, your police cars, fire trucks,
ambulances, and it also shows where the
cameras are,” Suit said.
The city is now working to give back
up dispatchers access to the system to
give them the ability to do things like
For more about the debate
on surveillance cameras,
see Commentary on page 8
view the area where there have been re
ports of traffic lights out or debris in the
roadway.
“We give them access to it so ideal
ly we don’t have to send a car when we
don’t have to send a car,” Suit said.
Carlos Campos, a spokesman for the
Atlanta Police Department, said the de
partment launched its Operation Shield
Video Integration Center in 2011. It
cost about $8 million and was paid for
using money from the Atlanta Police
Foundation and the federal government.
Campos said the city has access to
about 1,400 cameras in areas includ
ing Buckhead, Midtown and down
town Atlanta.
“There was already a great deal of ex
isting infrastructure in downtown that
we were able to tap into. That is one of
the unique aspects of the [Video Inte
gration Center]. We have a partnership
with the private sector, so these are not
just city-owned cameras,” Campos said.
Campos said the system has been
helpful to Atlanta police.
“For example, during major events
such as the Final Four, it provided us
with situational awareness on a mass
scale. We were able to provide live
feeds on the ground into a Joint Op
erations Center. It has also been help
ful in monitoring other major events.
We have also recorded several major
crimes on the system that have helped
provide evidence to investigators,”
Campos said.
Suit recalled a particular incident
where Sandy Springs police were able to
review video footage to find a hit-and-
run driver who fled the scene after hit
ting a cyclist.
Carter said “numerous, numerous
events that have occurred, especially in
“You’ve got to be prepared
and if you can’t prevent it,
you want to have
every resource possible to
be able to investigate and
mitigate that situation.”
- TERRY SULT
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY,
SANDY SPRINGS
Midtown, where a camera system has
helped to solve crimes, identified peo
ple in the process of committing crimes.
One of the most frequent ones is en
tering autos, people strolling the streets
breaking windows.
“Normal, everyday issues are always
occurring, and you can really make an
impact there.”
Bob Mullen, a spokesman for the city
of Dunwoody, said the city is preparing
to set up a video system in Brook Run
Park later this year.
“In the past several years, Brook Run
Park has experienced a significant level
of crime including criminal damage to
property, graffiti, and thefts from vehi
cles,” Mullen said.
Carter doesn’t believe security foot
age infringes on privacy because most
recordings are taken in public places and
only used in emergency situations.
“The idea is to make this informa
tion available so police can use it when
they need it. They don’t have a monitor
ing operation. No one is sitting around
watching it,” Carter said. “I think that’s
the reality of it. No one is sitting around
watching cameras all day.”
Suit said footage can also be used to
hold police officers accountable. He said
anything the city records is public re
cord.
“The tools are two-edged,” Suit said.
“I think where the balance comes in is
when you’re using them for accountabil
ity as well as solving cases, that’s where
the Open Records Act helps. I’m a big
fan of the Open Records Act.”
Suit said the importance of technol
ogy and video footage was evident in lo
cating the Boston Marathon bombers.
“When you think about having to be
prepared in today’s age and challenges we
face, with everything from active shoot
ers to someone who can put together a
pressure cooker bomb .... You’ve got to
be prepared, and if you can’t prevent it,
you want to have every resource possi
ble to be able to investigate and mitigate
that situation,” Suit said.
TOWN
AUDREY
HEPBURN
Breakfast
| "f IFFANYS
BROOKHAVEN
TOWN
DENTISTRY
No outside food, drinks or coolers permitted
Hilltop Meadow, Green Lot * 4469 Stella Dr., Atlanta, GA 30342 • Picnic baskets permitted on lawn area
CO
4 | JUNE28 — JULY 11,2012 | www.ReporterNewspapers.net
co
CO
CO
BK
