Security Cameras in Scranton's Public Places (dealer, drug, free)

[WasPA]

No problem with technology here. Much of it I could do without---- ever notice how some of the latest advances don't leave you with the feeling that life is better for it/them ? I do have a problem with the shifting away from personal freedom (including freedom from snooping), while some among us rush around celebrating Freedom! Freedom! and building monuments to it which I suppose we can stand around admiringly in the future waving little plastic decal flags, pretending.........lol.....but that's another thread....

[weluvpa]

I have a problem with it, because I think that the cameras are placed in the areas where we do not really have a high crime rate. Intersection of Olive and Providence road? Why? Do we have a crime problem with the students there? I think that that camera should have been placed closer to the rescue mission so that they can insure the safety of the children. Downtown? Why? there is no body downtown after 6pm and there is rarely crime downtown, other than shop lifting at the mall. This was a huge waste of $250,000 not to mention that we have to pay someone to watch these cameras. The mayor used Baltimore as a model for us. Are they FUC^IN& KIDDING ME Baltimore, since when does this city even remotely compare to Baltimore in anyway shape or form. Just another expediture without the proper demographic research needed to accomplish this successfully.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

I have a problem with it, because I think that the cameras are placed in the areas where we do not really have a high crime rate. Intersection of Olive and Providence road? Why? Do we have a crime problem with the students there? I think that that camera should have been placed closer to the rescue mission so that they can insure the safety of the children. Downtown? Why? there is no body downtown after 6pm and there is rarely crime downtown, other than shop lifting at the mall. This was a huge waste of $250,000 not to mention that we have to pay someone to watch these cameras. The mayor used Baltimore as a model for us. Are they FUC^IN& KIDDING ME Baltimore, since when does this city even remotely compare to Baltimore in anyway shape or form. Just another expediture without the proper demographic research needed to accomplish this successfully.

Daniel, you of all people should also realize that Doherty isn't exactly a "patron saint" when it comes to keeping the police department well-staffed and well-funded, and the latest attempts to balance the budget might result in further cuts to the department. I'm not a public safety official by any means, but something tells me that a growing drug trade in Lackawanna/Luzerne Counties along with a declining police force spells recipe for disaster in the upcoming years. Any pro-active, preventive measures the city could take to deter criminal activities in the future are a positive in my book. I'll agree that some of the locations sound a bit foolish, but if more cameras will be on the way in "shady" areas, then I think it's money well-spent for peace of mind. As an avid distance runner, I'd feel much more at ease to know that the shortage in the police department's ranks is being compensated for with increased surveillance from above so that the odds of me being mugged once Scranton falls victim to criminal pressures will be somewhat mitigated.

[WasPA]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

I have a problem with it, because I think that the cameras are placed in the areas where we do not really have a high crime rate. Intersection of Olive and Providence road? Why? Do we have a crime problem with the students there? I think that that camera should have been placed closer to the rescue mission so that they can insure the safety of the children. Downtown? Why? there is no body downtown after 6pm and there is rarely crime downtown, other than shop lifting at the mall. This was a huge waste of $250,000 not to mention that we have to pay someone to watch these cameras. The mayor used Baltimore as a model for us. Are they FUC^IN& KIDDING ME Baltimore, since when does this city even remotely compare to Baltimore in anyway shape or form. Just another expediture without the proper demographic research needed to accomplish this successfully.

Seems like a reasonable perspective.

Baltimore, wow. $250K. Contractor did alright, I'd say...as they so often do in municipal situations.....

[Colarosc917]

Are there cameras located outsid eof Tink's?

[weluvpa]

Even if they were, the cameras are not hooked up to any recording devices...Should there be cameras outside of Tink's?

[johnqpublic]

if you research Baltimores' cameras , you will find they are ineffective as a deterrent...The cameras in Scranton, while sounding like a good idea, are in my opinion just a waste of money

[johnqpublic]

In Britain, where surveillance cameras are widely used, they have not been found to have a significant impact on crime rates,” says Stacey Mink, director of development for the ACLU of Maryland. Cédric Laurant, policy counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, acknowledges that such cameras can be a useful tool in preventing petty crimes and theft but warns that camera surveillance systems in public places can impede on privacy and civil rights.
“The system can be justified to a point,” Laurant says, though he contends that the cameras often simply shift crime, rather than end it. For example, he points to British studies which showed that in areas with surveillance cameras crime decreased 30 percent to 40 percent; however, the studies also showed that crime was simply displaced to less-monitored areas nearby.

[weluvpa]

Originally Posted by johnqpublic

if you research Baltimores' cameras , you will find they are ineffective as a deterrent...The cameras in Scranton, while sounding like a good idea, are in my opinion just a waste of money

John they are not even hooked up..They never have been....The city couldn't afford to buy the software needed and they had no one to handle them...The mayor did the PR Photo op when they went up and thats it.....They don't work, not one...$250,000 down the drain....I'm not surprised thats Doherty's trademark.

[johnqpublic]

An interesting sidenote, Baltimores system cost $47,000 ,but that was in 1994/1995 when they were installed... Scranton, keeping right up with the trends!!! lol