"Security cameras can protect your home and business. They deter crime from occurring and assist in solving crimes that have occurred. Now the City is working with citizens to tie their private security cameras into the City's 911 call center, run by the Office of Emergency Management and Communication (OEMC).
Exterior surveillance cameras tied into OEMC can be accessed during an emergency to provide first responders with information pertinent to the situation. Alderman Smith utilized this program at the public schools in the 48th Ward to great success. If you already have security cameras, or are thinking of installing security cameras, click on the brochure below or call OEMC at 312-746-9111 for more information."
I agree, security cameras can fill in the blanks, when the police force is unavailable.
ReplyDeleteOf course the supreme irony is that the 48th Ward Office has publicly mentioned this. And the 46th Ward Office? Not a word.
Sorry, but Uptown residents in the 46th don't ever hear a "call to action", or even a comment on the criminal activity that has escalated here from "our" Ward Office. Once again, it makes no sense.
Yeah, the cameras on the top of the building on Sunnyside and Hazel really deterred crime this summer. Gimme a break. No gang-banger gives a crap.
ReplyDeleteTrust me folks, this camera nonsense is just that. Nonsense. I am unaware of any OEMC camera preventing or solving a crime. Oh, we do on occasion get a "men drinking on the public way " call, but that's about it. If I owned a business in the City of Chicago, I'd be very,very, leery about hooking into their system. I don't know what the citys angle is but there is one and the small business owner won't benefit from it, mark my words. A new "camera tax" perhaps once they find out you have a camera? Something along those lines.
ReplyDeleteOh, wait a minute. I may have been a little harsh with my assessment of the cameras. I forgot about those red light cameras. They are good. They can zoom in and highlight a pimple on a gnats butt from a block away. Those cameras do work. The rest suck.
Society has become so accustomed to seeing video of everything on reality shows like "COPS", that criminal juries have trouble deliberating cases without it. This is a complaint you'll hear a lot from prosecutors, virtually everywhere.
ReplyDeleteI once handled an armed robbery at a McDonald's. We were able to solve the McD's robbery due to an EXTENSIVE security camera system the owner had installed after an even earlier robbery. But that's not the story here.
Months later, there was a crash, at 5:30 AM, where a CTA bus struck an SUV and rolled it, killing one occupant. "Witnesses" showed up and blamed the bus driver rather than their drunken neighbor in the SUV. Recalling the previous McD's robbery a block away, I checked their security camera footage. Long story short, McD's had an outside security camera focused from the corner of the roof toward the front door that ALSO showed the bus crash down the street.
From that camera, A FULL BLOCK AWAY, it was clear that the SUV was at fault in the fatal crash, AND that the so-called "witnesses" were not even present when the crash occurred.
Potentially, that saved taxpayers big $$$ in a lawsuit settlement and the CTA driver much anxiety.
I also know of many cases where officers were cleared of allegations of wrongdoing once police "dash-cams" were viewed. Despite this, I'm not ready to sign on to this program. Perhaps it's due to a mistrust of the politicians, like Big Daddy pointed out where there would likely be a "camera tax" looming. With the city budget in the hole the way it is, EVERYTHING will be looked at.
If I owned a business in the City of Chicago, I'd be very,very, leery about hooking into their system. I don't know what the citys angle is but there is one and the small business owner won't benefit from it, mark my words. A new "camera tax" perhaps once they find out you have a camera? Something along those lines.
ReplyDeleteBD, you know I respect your opinion, but would a tax be worth it if the cameras were able to catch someone in the act? And since you say that such cameras haven't prevented or solved a crime as far as you know, is it because the bangers know the cameras are around and avoid those areas?
MOTS, no, I would disagree with the tax. As I said, this has to be some kind of scam the city is running. I don't know what it is and a "tax" is speculation on my part, but they are up to something, believe me.
ReplyDeleteThere is no one watching the cameras. There aren't any bodies to do that. In another district, the Commander (and I use that term because I can't think of another that would adequately describe that person and still be printed), allows the residents of the community to watch the PODS. Of course you know who comes in and watches them. Yes, the gangsters. They now know the field of view of the cameras. Sad but true.
I think they are worth while in residential buldings. You want to deter the average criminal from following residents into apartment buildings, and prosecute them when they do. You want them covering the exits and stairwells. From this prospective, cameras make sense. Lets not forget the old man that was beaten on 45XX North Sheridan not too long ago.
ReplyDeleteI stand corrected. Apparently we have made an arrest based upon what the POD saw. We have arrested a man for stealing a............you guessed it, a POD!
ReplyDeletePepperspracommanddo. I agree with your take on private security cameras in residential buildings. But that's a controlled enviorment, unlike the streets where all the BG has to do is operate outside the field of vision of the POD. And as I'm sure you know, Henny Penny is letting the thugs come in and use ours.
@swisshammer, the cameras on Sunnyside and Hazel are there BECAUSE of the violence this summer. They were installed only a month or two ago after summer ended.
ReplyDeleteBig Daddy, You know what he wanted that POD for, right ? He was going to mount it in his basement party room, checkered pattern and blue light flashing away...The ultimate trophy for a ghetto thug, as they consume beers and blunts....Can you picture it ?
ReplyDeletePepperspraycommando-yes I can. Next to a coppers gun or star it would have been the ultimate trophy.
ReplyDeleteI do not think we have a choice but to vote for Patrick McDonough in the 48Th Ward Aldermanic race. The milk toast and candy apple response in the past is not working. I hope Harry Osterman and Philip Bernstein wake up act like American heroes.
ReplyDeleteSecurity cameras are used for two basic purposes: investigation and deterrence. The images that you collect with your security cameras will most often be used to review a crime or accident so that you can understand what really happened. But the cameras themselves also have a deterrent value since people who know they are being watched are usually on their best behavior.
ReplyDeleteBusiness Security Companies