DENISE ALLABAUGH
The
Citizens Voice
Sunday, December 10, 2006
WILKES-BARRE — Everyone on Public Square is being watched
through a tower of surveillance cameras.
Many people say the cameras make them feel safer and deter crime
downtown, while civil liberty advocates argue they are an invasion
of privacy.
The cameras on Public Square were installed as a test system
at a minimal cost to the city to increase security downtown, said
City Administrator J.J. Murphy. The city only paid for the shipping
costs for these cameras, he said.
Elsewhere in the city, nine surveillance cameras were installed
in city hall and nine in the Department of Public Works Garage.
The city purchased the cameras earlier this year from Interlogic
Technologies for $9,850.
Mayor Tom Leighton said he can monitor the cameras in city hall
from a television in his office. Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Gerry
Dessoye and Murphy would not say who else is watching the surveillance
tapes.
Hidden cameras also were installed in other city locations, which
Murphy and Dessoye would not identify.
“We will not disclose all the locations and who is monitoring
them. That’s why it’s a security system,” Murphy
said. “We don’t want people to know who’s looking
at them, when and how often. If people aren’t doing
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anything wrong, they have nothing to worry about.”
Signs in city hall inform people that surveillance cameras are
in place, but there are no signs in “troublesome”
neighborhoods where cameras were installed, Murphy said.
“There are some cameras you see, but some you don’t
see. It’s the same way in banks,” Murphy said.
Wilkes-Barre resident Tim Grier recently attended a city council
meeting and submitted written requests asking for the locations
of surveillance cameras. He also asked who can view images captured
by the cameras, how long the images are stored and what measures
are being taken to ensure the images are not “misused.”
City officials were “evasive” in their answers, said
Grier, who created the Web site www.unamericanluzernecounty.org.
“While bringing new business to the city is important for
revitalization, ignoring the civil liberties of the average citizens,
who make up the bulk of the tax base, most likely repels as many
individuals as these pro-business policies attract,” Grier
said.
Larry Frankel, legislative director for the American Civil Liberties
Union, argues there is no clear evidence that surveillance cameras
improve security. When cameras are in public places, that limits
people’s rights to privacy, he said. He asked who decides
where the cameras should be.
“There are those who say they aren’t accomplishing
what they’re supposed to,” Frankel said. “The
government ought to study if they really are helpful for how much
they cost or can other measures be taken to make people feel safer.”
Although no statistics were available showing surveillance cameras
improve security, Dessoye said he has been an investigator long
enough to know the first thing police check at a crime scene is
surveillance cameras.
“I think the more cameras, the better. If you commit a
crime and you’re on camera, it’s a lot easier to identify
you and prove the crime,” Dessoye said. “I wish the
whole downtown was covered with them. I wish the whole city was
covered with them. If I don’t want someone to see me, I
won’t go where the cameras are and I hope criminals think
the same way.”
Robert Finlay, president of Humford Equities, pays for surveillance
cameras at the downtown locations he owns, including 15 Public
Square, 39 Public Square, Midtown Village and the state Labor
and Industry Building. Signs tell the public that these surveillance
cameras are in place.
Finlay has turned over many tapes to police. Thanks to these
tapes, police were able to nab juveniles who desecrated the state
Department of Labor and Industry building with graffiti. Cameras
helped police catch two purse snatchers, Finlay said. Detectives
are reviewing Finlay’s tapes to look for a man who has been
stealing laptop computers from downtown office buildings, he said.
Downtown Wilkes-Barre business owners interviewed said they are
in favor of surveillance cameras.
Ron Romanoski, owner of the new Fuse martini club, said he feels
secure with Midtown Village covered in surveillance cameras.
“I personally believe a system has to be set up with Big
Brother watching,” Romanoski said. “It brings a sense
of security to residents, but we also need to watch crossing boundaries
of people’s private lives.”
Joseph (Tex) Clauss, owner of Campus Square Billiards, was unaware
that surveillance cameras were on Public Square until a reporter
told him about the tower. He doesn’t see cameras as an invasion
of privacy, but he was quick to add, “If the bad guys know
they’re there, they’re a good thing.”
“Basically, they patrol the streets,” Clauss said.
“They should act as a deterrent.”
More cameras will be installed in the future when the city establishes
wireless Internet service, Murphy said.
“It’s a different society we live in today,”
Murphy said. “We are going have an extensive camera network
set up in the city so people have an additional safety mechanism.
Ultimately, this is what is going to separate Wilkes-Barre from
other towns our size. “
Scranton is following in Wilkes-Barre’s footsteps. Installation
of security cameras in Scranton is expected to begin early next
year, city officials said. Siemens Building Technologies, of Buffalo
Grove, Ill., was awarded a $219,985 contract for installation
work.
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