The St. Louis Police Department is looking to keep an eye on crime by helping to finance a system of cameras that would monitor the downtown area.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the police department’s board has decided to lend $115,000 to the project, which would go toward the instillation and operation of 10 cameras strategically placed to monitor crowds in downtown St. Louis.
This program would expand the police department’s previous efforts to monitor criminal behavior with cameras at major events, including last fall’s World Series. The Post-Dispatch said that Chicago and other large cities that regularly utilize crowd surveillance cameras,.
Assistant Chief Stephen Pollihan told the Post-Dispatch that “[the] cameras will add another layer of security for downtown.” He said that the department hopes to have the network of cameras installed by May of this year.
Pollihan also indicated that the cameras’ success in the downtown area could lead to similar surveillance in other areas of the city.
Saint Louis University Public Safety Director Jack Titone said that he believes that the cameras are an attempt to dispel the notion that St. Louis is an excessively dangerous place. “Cameras would add to the perception that the area is safe,” he said.
Titone called the camera system a “positive change” for the city. He believes that the camera system’s effects would be twofold: “Patrons in the area would feel safer, as they would believe that everyone’s activity was being monitored by someone in a monitoring room … A camera system such as this would be a deterrent to would-be crime in the area.”
He indicated that SLU has led the trend when it comes to proactive security measures in St. Louis.
“We do have several similar systems on our campus; all the parking garages are monitored, Fordham Parking lot, BSC and the SLUMA museum,” he said.
He went on to say that, while more surveillance options are being considered, he doesn’t see much value in monitoring communal outdoor areas on campus.
“I don’t think that we need cameras [monitoring the mall]. Criminal activity near SLU usually occurs in areas that are not official University property, and therefore are the responsibility of the police department,” Titone said.
The new program probably won’t have a significant impact on most SLU students, said Titone. However, he said that he does think that those who venture into the downtown area will feel more secure.
SLU sophomore Brittany Smith is not impressed by the police department’s added efforts for security.
“I didn’t know about it, so how many people will?” she said. “It doesn’t make a difference to have a camera watching. If [the police] can’t get there in time, it won’t do anything.”
