A surveillance project fulfilled by Pro-Vigil partner ProGuard Security Services in Chandler, AZ has come under scrutiny from some of Arizona’s local news outlets.
photo by Darryl Webb, Tribune
The project, run by the Downtown Chandler Community Partnership (DCCP), consists of a single mobile surveillance video camera unit placed on private property at “the northeast corner of Arizona Avenue and Buffalo Street, just north of Dr. A.J. Chandler Park.” The DCCP only contracted for video recording, not for live video surveillance.
The DCCP chose to monitor that particular corner in part because the location serves as a makeshift pick-up point for day laborers. Traffic and parking on the street become highly congested during the morning pick-up times. Further, day laborers who don’t find work continue congregating for the remainder of the day.
The city’s preferred location for day laborers to meet employers is behind the nearby Light & Life Free Methodist Church, through the Light & Life Day Labor Center, which is “designed to be a hub where the transactions can happen away from the street.”
In addition to the traffic congestion, the DCCP said they’d use the mobile surveillance unit to gather information on parking and traffic for downtown planning as well as to test “whether the cameras might have a deterrent effect on crime in the downtown, as well as to create a sense of safety…”
It should be noted that, “According to a 1996 California Research Bureau report on public-video surveillance, as reported by Alex Salkever in the article Too Many Unseen Cameras? the overwhelming majority of cities that use video in the US say it has helped cut crime.” (source)
The news furor over the video surveillance project likely stems from the city’s partial funding of the DCCP – and their attempts to publicly distance themselves from the group. As one city official said, “We felt like it would come across as ‘Big Brother.’” The city’s officials apparently fear the response of their citizens.
In an interesting twist, it appears that 70% of Chandler, AZ citizens favor the surveillance project, based on a poll conducted along with the news story.
And why not? As one citizen commenter stated: “It seems from the story that this camera is to combat what is a potential safety issue. The city should be responsible for paying for studies on how its streets are being used, to ensure the safety of motorists and pedestrians. Furthermore, if the city cannot keep the traffic flowing and is causing harm to the surrounding businesses, the city will eventually lose the tax revenues because the business will leave and seek better locations for their success.”
News Coverage of Video Surveillance in Arizona:
Chandler group’s cameras watch day laborers
Is ‘Big Brother’ watching downtown Chandler?
Video: Cameras in Chandler look for day laborers?
