An attempt to rehabilitate a run-down section of Columbus (Ohio) may receive a boost from a video surveillance system monitored by citizens, tied together by wireless technology. The non-profit Columbus Compact Corp. is working to bring back a 6-block stretch of East Main St., and installed six controllable video cameras on buildings to focus on problem areas–“pan-handling, drug sales, prostitution, public drinking and loitering,” a press release states. The cameras are linked by a wireless system supplied by Firetide Inc. using mesh technology. A group of citizens has been trained to use the surveillance system, collect information on crimes they observe and report them to the police. Business owners in several other parts of the city have now requested their own surveillance systems. [more]
Perspective: The interesting aspect of this story is that a six-block stretch of downtown Columbus has become so crime-infested, and that the police department can’t focus enough resources within such a narrowly-defined area to rid the neighborhood of its problems. Their alternative–don’t have a police presence in the area, but rather have the citizens do the legwork, which generates more calls to the comm center. The real question becomes, what happens to those calls? Are officers sent immediately or does a high volume of incidents delay the response?
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