L.A. Police Want City To Increase Camera Numbers

Jan 22, 2008 4:12 PM

Some city and police officials in the San Fernando Valley are working to install as many high-tech surveillance cameras as possible to help offset an LAPD they say is stretched too thin.

"We believe that it's going to have a tremendous impact in the streets," says Deputy Chief Michel Moore, the Los Angeles Police Department's commanding officer in the Valley.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, there are currently 40 to 50 LAPD cameras mounted in the city -- but about 2,000 total cameras police can access, including Department of Transportation cameras at intersections.

And LAPD Deputy Chief Michael Downing, head of the department's Counter-Terrorism and Criminal Intelligence Bureau, says that number could expand "1,000 percent."

Despite Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's push for 10,000 cops by 2010, patrolling the city's 468 square miles will remain a daunting task for officers.

There are "tens of thousands of roads in the Valley and I don't have -- and won't have anytime soon -- enough officers to keep an eye on all of them," Moore told the Daily News.

He noted surveillance successes in other parts of the city, including MacArthur Park, Hollywood and the Jordan Downs projects in South Los Angeles.

But their increased use and capabilities have civil-liberty experts sounding a cautious note as privacy expectations diminish under what they say is a growing Orwellian state in which Big Brother is definitely watching.

The American Civil Liberties Union issued "Under the Watchful Eye," an August report critical of the proliferation of surveillance cameras throughout California, which found that 37 cities in the state have video-surveillance programs.

"Residents in high-crime areas, their political leaders and police officials often see surveillance systems as an obvious solution to crime," the report stated. "Often, however, little consideration is given to the significant evidence demonstrating that camera surveillance is ineffective, especially when compared with other alternatives."

But police say cameras are an effective aid in fighting crime. And today's cameras, with Wi-Fi and digital technology offering pictures so crisp they can read the cover of a book, allow police to monitor criminal hot spots from command centers, patrol car laptop computers and cell phones.

Police officials say in sprawling L.A., residents shouldn't be concerned that cameras are going to be on every corner like they are in more compact cities like London.

But officials hope cameras here also can help prevent, investigate and combat terrorist attacks. The cameras were key to solving the London train and bus bombings of July 2005.

With help from a federal grant, the LAPD has taken the lead in creating a $7 million regional video-command center, where they'll be able to share feeds with other agencies, Downing told the Daily News.

The center, which authorities expect to be up and running in about 18 months, will monitor all the department's current closed-circuit cameras and add new ones, including those with license-plate recognition capabilities, he says.

The United Kingdom has 80 percent of the world's closed-circuit television systems, Downing said. While other compact areas, such as Manhattan, with a similar surveillance-camera project in the works, can closely emulate London, Los Angeles cannot.

L.A. should focus on protecting the obvious terrorist targets - LAX, the ports, financial districts and other infrastructure - as well as entertainment venues, Downing says.

In the Valley, police aren't looking so much to thwart terrorist attacks as they are trying to combat crime, hoping that mobile cameras will allow officers to focus on high-crime areas.

City Councilman Dennis Zine expects the approval of up to 16 state-of-the-art portable cameras for his West Valley district.

The project is expected to cost about $300,000 and will be funded through Zine's street-furniture fund - all with the blessings of the neighborhood councils in his district that normally get that money, he said.

Thanks to police boosters, a monitoring system has already been built at the LAPD's West Valley station, complete with nine monitors.

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