Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Are Cameras Worth It?

We're pretty sure that the answer is no. At least in any reputable study, that's what the answer would be. This article seems to rehash some of the stuff we covered months ago, but it's a slow news day and we need some filler:
  • In May 2010, a 30-year-old Pakistani-American drove his Nissan Pathfinder into one of the most scrutinized urban spaces on the planet and parked along the curb.

    In the hours that followed, more than 80 city surveillance cameras – as well as dozens of private cameras, constant media feeds and amateur tourist videographers - failed to capture an image of Faisal Shahzad and his suspicious, fertilizer-packed SUV in Times Square. All those electronic eyes couldn't even provide police investigators an image of the suspect

Without some to watch and interpret the video feed, all you have is a lot of taxpayer money pissed away to no end. Some other points:

  • London city data revealed that police were no more likely to catch the perpetrators of crimes committed in camera-dense areas than in other boroughs, suggesting no link between more cameras and better crime solving.

  • In Chicago, the country's most extensive, integrated network, cameras in Humboldt Park correlated to a 12 percent decline in overall crime, including a 33 percent reduction in drug offenses and robberies and a 20 percent drop in violent crime. Meanwhile, a second Chicago area of study, West Garfield Park, saw no crime drop.
The study never addressed a couple of issues:
  1. The FBI won't accept Chicago statistics in their annual report on crime. Why would the camera study people trust anything coming out of these bean counters?
  2. Most importantly, what role did gentrification play in the crime reduction around Humboldt Park? If you price the gang bangers out of the neighborhood, they aren't around to do robberies, burglaries and murders.

Smoke and mirrors, but the mirror is cracked and the smoke is rapidly dissipating.

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33 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

They are not worth a plug nickel. A waste of money and manpower all the way from purchase through to maintenance and everything between.

12/13/2011 12:07:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The FBI knows that the corrupt chicago politicians are the ones who put the incompetent bosses in charge of the CPD. We all know how the brass lie and fudge numbers all the time I'm sure the FBI knows it too.

12/13/2011 12:10:00 AM  
Anonymous Crime killer said...

Home invasion > Burglary > Theft from person > theft from building >theft simple > criminal damage to property > damage to real property > trespassing to state supported property > trespasses to state supported land > trespass > peeping tom > GOCR non-criminal > Contact Card :

I'll approve that report, this time! Ahh Huh?

Now where's the complainant !


(Looks at watch.) Anhhhhhh. the forensic institute. It's really an M.E. S CASE!

C U tomorrow; " El T ". Farrrrrt.......

12/13/2011 12:21:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why don't we see any studies in the media crediting the so-called reduction in crime due to the cities recent hand gun law changes?

Heh..you know why!

As far as the cameras go, once we fine tune them a bit more we can use them all to read badge numbers and name tags like we do license plates. Then we can monitize and use that information to generate disciplinary actions when someone takes an extra minute for a personal.

12/13/2011 12:45:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cameras are worth it..when you use them after the fact for a photo op in the church where a priest gets slapped around and robbed.

Yeah..oh yeah.. we stand by you father as the crocodile tears flow and we once again hear noble speeches on the Broken Windows, the reaching out to the communities, and all that other photo-op bullshit

12/13/2011 12:50:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Are Cameras Worth It?"


No! They don't bring in any ca$h!

Bring on the speed & red light cameras!

12/13/2011 01:21:00 AM  
Blogger John Northen said...

I know of only one location on the planet where cameras definitely deter street crime: The Principality of Monaco. Even with all the wealthy jet-set visitors and residents, violent crime and even thefts are virtually nonexistent. While visiting Monte Carlo, I checked in at police headquarters. Every single street in Monaco is covered by taped cameras which are monitored live at headquarters 24/7.

There is a catch though. The land area of Monaco is 0.75 square miles--only half the size of New York City's Central Park.

12/13/2011 01:23:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The only folks who think cameras work are the corrupt assholes who sell this worthless crap to the city.

12/13/2011 01:49:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If an area is inhabited by Yuppies, the crime rate declines, as it did in Humboldt Park.

12/13/2011 02:26:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"smoke and mirrors" I thought I smelled something burning...ahhh man not again!!

=============

10:44 p.m. CST, December 12, 2011

Trains were delayed on the CTA Blue Line this evening as Fire Department crews extricated someone from underneath a train, authorities said.

Service was cut off about 10 p.m. because of police activity at the Kedzie-Homan Stop on the Congress branch of the Blue Line

12/13/2011 02:47:00 AM  
Anonymous Hey, I'm Just Sayin, said...

The cameras are simply a POLITICAL tool to BS simple minded people into thinking that they are protected without having actual POLICE protection, nothing more. They may cool down a particular location, crimewise, but the criminal activity will just return around the corner and outside of the perceived view of the camera lens.

Back when Joe McCarthy was the commander in 018, we had a nagging problem with thefts from autos by Lincoln Park Zoo. He used to park a couple of downed marked cars there to give the impression that there were police nearby. It had a short success span but the bad guys caught on pretty quick, which I'm sure is the case with the unmanned cameras.

12/13/2011 04:14:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Are Cameras Worth It?

The cameras are worth every penny the Aldermen and Mayor were bribed with to buy them !

If it was really about public safety – someone would be watching them.

12/13/2011 04:47:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

First off, the reason the FBI doesn't report Chicago's UCR summary data is because of what we call "rape," versus what the feebs want (our definition includes more types of sexual assault scenarios). Not because of reliability concerns. Secondly, the Chicago study did not consider other factors, such as change in demographics in the Humboldt Park area (it's dramatic!).

12/13/2011 06:01:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Also add a manpower shortage and lack of pro active police work. Those will also reduce crime cuz no one is being arrested. Statistics are bull shit

12/13/2011 07:34:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In 003, we have to leave the POD camera program at the front desk running for hours, to give the impression that someone is watching it, when in fact NO ONE is watching it. Just another event number in smoke-and-mirrors game that provides our superiors the propaganda to feed to the public.

Do other districts do this?

Do you think the desk sergeant will be charged for lying on an official report when he/she writes in their report that the POD event number was actually an event number for someone actually watching the PODs.

It seems probable the PODs are being used more to watch the police instead of watching the bad guys. Anyone know who makes more POD requests? IAD or detectives?

12/13/2011 08:02:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey! If the Mayor 'sez crime is down, CRIME IS DOWN!
Whadda we gots to do? Break your legs?
Now where is that kool-aid?

12/13/2011 08:34:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cameras are overrated but only one tool in the tool box.You need foot patrol officers,just like the infantry to occupy and root out the ground element.

12/13/2011 09:11:00 AM  
Anonymous INSOMNIAC said...

I am a Chicagoan who suffers from chronic insomnia. For a mere minimum wage of $8.25/hour, I would volunteer to monitor Chicago's CCTV cameras for street crime. However, I do my best work while lying down. Could the city provide me with a cot and a pillow?

12/13/2011 09:30:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Service was cut off about 10 p.m. because of police activity at the Kedzie-Homan Stop on the Congress branch of the Blue Line

12/13/2011 02:47:00 AM

Cut off? Interrupted would have been better to use considering the circumstances.

12/13/2011 09:43:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

the gps ap on i-phones have solved more crimes than the cameras.

12/13/2011 11:12:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Quote from Daley "If cameras make one person feel more safe and comfortable thats worth all the money in the world". Thank God he didn't get all the money in the world!

12/13/2011 12:13:00 PM  
Anonymous OH MY GOD! said...

You should be aware that the 16th district has had a video recovery program that has been in place for 5 years with great success. They go out and get videos of burglaries and robberies, look at them , identify the offenders and arrest them. They have a very high ratio of arrests to videos. The powers that be have ignored this program despite countless attempts to to bring it to their attention to impliment it citywide. This program costs the city NOTHING, zero dollars, and it WORKS! I would guess that unless millions of dollars in contracts for the favored are involved the politicians could care less.

12/13/2011 12:55:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"...more than 80 city surveillance cameras – as well as dozens of private cameras, constant media feeds and amateur tourist videographers - failed to capture an image of Faisal Shahzad and his suspicious, fertilizer-packed SUV in Times Square. All those electronic eyes couldn't even provide police investigators an image of the suspect..."

We'll try it next time with a T-72 tank with a picture of Saddam Hussein wired to the front.

...and here they are they are fussing around, micro-adjusting the rules about how children under a certain age don't have to take their shoes off at airports...

12/13/2011 02:14:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In May 2010, a 30-year-old Pakistani-American drove his Nissan Pathfinder into one of the most scrutinized urban spaces on the planet and parked along the curb.

In the hours that followed, more than 80 city surveillance cameras – as well as dozens of private cameras, constant media feeds and amateur tourist videographers - failed to capture an image of Faisal Shahzad and his suspicious, fertilizer-packed SUV in Times Square. All those electronic eyes couldn't even provide police investigators an image of the suspect





You may not remember, but the liberal mass media ran a video footage of a white male walking away from the area of the car. They ran with it and tried (hoped) it was a crazed TEA Partier.

12/13/2011 03:57:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You should be aware that the 16th district has had a video recovery program that has been in place for 5 years with great success. They go out and get videos of burglaries and robberies, look at them , identify the offenders and arrest them. They have a very high ratio of arrests to videos. The powers that be have ignored this program despite countless attempts to to bring it to their attention to impliment it citywide. This program costs the city NOTHING, zero dollars, and it WORKS! I would guess that unless millions of dollars in contracts for the favored are involved the politicians could care less.

12/13/2011 12:55:00 PM
-
Yay. How many crimes has it PREVENTED? I'm sure having video proof of violent crime is GREAT comfort to the victims, or their survivors.

12/13/2011 08:42:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

To the contrary, cameras helped catch the ERPS Lt. and made Sgt goldilocks return some additional items she uhhh... uh..... cough..... cough she forgot she had in her car?, in her house?, in her locker?..(either way places they didn't belong).....over the weekend......Like we all knew she would......WTF....two tiers of justice......one for you and one for the clouted or is that McClouted....m heavy, I got clout...he hheeee he here we go again catch the piece of sh&t and she gets away with it.... keep filling out those ethic statements boys and girls...only yours get turned in....

12/14/2011 12:32:00 AM  
Anonymous noone90210 said...

Re: Humboldt Park Crime

If an area is inhabited by Yuppies, the crime rate declines, as it did in Humboldt Park.

Statistically (loose use of the word), crime might be declining in Humboldt Park, but what do the locals think?

Previous articles posted here and elsewhere contradict those statistics.

12/14/2011 09:25:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You should be aware that the 16th district has had a video recovery program that has been in place for 5 years with great success. They go out and get videos of burglaries and robberies, look at them , identify the offenders and arrest them. They have a very high ratio of arrests to videos. The powers that be have ignored this program despite countless attempts to to bring it to their attention to impliment it citywide. This program costs the city NOTHING, zero dollars, and it WORKS! I would guess that unless millions of dollars in contracts for the favored are involved the politicians could care less.

12/13/2011 12:55:00 PM
RE:
Yay. How many crimes has it PREVENTED? I'm sure having video proof of violent crime is GREAT comfort to the victims, or their survivors.

It hasn't prevented any crimes, but it has solved a lot of crimes in the 16th. A picture of the offender goes out to all cars and they are on alert for this person. Many arrests have been made including the one from the CVS pharmacy, where a little girl was kidnapped a few yrs ago. That crime was solved the evening that it occurred. The little girls family was grateful that someone developed that video and got it out so quickly.

12/14/2011 10:48:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Secondly, the Chicago study did not consider other factors, such as change in demographics in the Humboldt Park area (it's dramatic!)."

Dramatic is an understatement.

15-20 years ago when the gang bangers were shooting each other left and right, nobody gave a damn.

Now that white people live in the neighborhood, everybody acts like "shots fired" calls are a big deal.

12/15/2011 08:46:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Thank God he (Daley) didn't get all the money in the world!"


He tried. This broke-ass city is his legacy.

12/15/2011 08:49:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"If cameras make one person feel more safe and comfortable thats worth all the money in the world"

- Tricky Dick Daley


"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

- Benjamin Franklin

12/15/2011 08:51:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You should be aware that the 16th district has had a video recovery program that has been in place for 5 years with great success.

[Not really..... Please Cite the cases...that's right you cant.]

They go out and get videos of burglaries and robberies, look at them , identify the offenders and arrest them.......[They don't inventory them nor do they talk to detectives assigned.......anything for a cb # and then it's a released without charging case and they blame everybody but themselves]..... after they have arrested them the victims can only be 50% sure...(without pointing to the offender) and that's not prosecutable.

They have a very high ratio of arrests to videos.......[Arrests made and cases that actually make it past the probable cause hearing are two different things].... The powers that be have ignored this program despite countless attempts to to bring it to their attention to impliment it citywide. [Because it's self serving, for only a cb number....justice is actually served past the photo and fingerprint stations].... This program costs the city NOTHING, zero dollars, and it WORKS! I would guess that unless millions of dollars in contracts for the favored are involved the politicians could care less.

Truth be told the system could work better but it has to be used properly.....not under the conditions of a self serving half assed attempt to glorify that Lt or the tac teams.

12/15/2011 11:17:00 PM  
Blogger Elm Creek Smith said...

...He used to park a couple of downed marked cars there to give the impression that there were police nearby. It had a short success span but the bad guys caught on pretty quick, which I'm sure is the case with the unmanned cameras.

12/13/2011 04:14:00 AM

A local PD parked an out-of-service police car in a stop-sign running hot spot and stop-sign running dropped until the bad drivers caught on. Then the PD replaced the out-of-service car with an in-service police car. Boy, were those stop-sign runners upset!

ECS

12/16/2011 10:48:00 AM  

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