Police, prosecutors fight over cameras
Baltimore prosecutors have never jumped up and down over police surveillance cameras. And so it should come as no surprise when the city State's Attorney's Office issues a news release touting the conviction of a man involved in a shooting captured on video it is full of hidden digs.
Yes, the video helped prosecutors obtain a guilty plea that sent a man away for 20 years for shooting another man in Park Heights last year. And yes, as prosecutors point out, the camera system helped Baltimore police arrest 759 people last year, of which 207 were found guilty of crimes and another 214 have cases pending in the courts.
And yes, City Hall has indicated that even in tough budget times, it would "fully fund crime cameras which serve as a force multiplier, and are shown to reduce crime and assist prosecutions."
But that is where the praise ends:
A close reading of the news release notes that of the camera-assisted arrests, prosecutors had to drop more than 300 for reasons "ranging from legal insufficient to police officers FTA (failure to appear in court).
And, prosecutors noted, the shooter could not be clearly identified on the video, and he had thrown his gun into a pond at Druid Hill Park. Prosecutors got the victim to testify, a rarity in such cases, and used the video to put the suspect at the scene. It wasn't the video alone, but the video along with more traditionally-obtained evidence that got a conviction.
The news release notes that "most criminal cases charged using pole camera footage are misdemeanor narcotics cases. Few gun violence cases are charged." Prosecutors included stats that show of the 229 guilty findings last year, 228 were related to drugs and one was related to murder.
Prosecutors also hoped that reporters would note the 759 video-assisted arrests and compare that to figures from 2007, when cops busted 1,368 people using the cameras, thus noting a decrease in lockups.
Prosecutors have long complained that the city sold the public on video surveillance by promising them that criminals could be caught in the act and easily sent to prison and that they deter crime. But rarely are crimes actually caught on camera, with though the city has more than 500 that are monitored 24 hours a day, and that most often the footage is just one more piece of evidence in a complex puzzle.
But city police say the cameras do deter crime -- they cite a yet-to-be-published study by the Urban Institute showing a 24 percent decrease in the downtown areas since the cameras went up in 2004 -- and the cops have their own set of numbers.
They say police have actual arrested 1,725 people with the help of the cameras, a 22 percent increase, including more than 1,000 people on drug charges, 77 for assaults, 45 for robberies and 17 for theft. Both sides agree on the camera-assisted arrest in the one murder case.
Categories: City Hall, Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Top brass
Comments
Bottom line, the cameras are cheaper than police presence, in a time of city fiscal crisis.
700+ arrests from cameras is better than zero.
Higher resolution cameras would be a great next step, more cameras, and at this point I am wondering why urban police forces are not looking into using the same drones the military does in Iraq and Afganastan for surveilance. If they can find the Taliban in caves, certainly they can locate criminals in row houses.
Also, those drones are manufactured right here in Baltimore County.
Posted by: John E | April 7, 2010 9:23 AM
An unmentioned issue with the crime cams is their inability to clearly picture and thus assist in the identification and apprehension of black criminals. Apparently, the city aquired the crime cam system without properly researching the application and use of the cams in 'real' situations. Incredibly, the system and cameras were demonstrated to Baltimore City politicos and BCPD using white actors as the 'criminal' elemnent.If it were not so pathetic it would be hilarious. The buffoons bought the system and no criminal was discriminated against ! Well folks, here reality. It takes three times the pixel concentration to clearly define a black or dark complected face to a level that an ID and evidence can be produced. This is not racist- just reality-these are the facts.
Baltimore's black criminals are an estute and street smart bunch,so they typically wear two sets of clothing and shed the shirt and pants in an alley before reappearing in view of police presence. It happens every day. Every word true...print it.
Posted by: jay sangston | April 7, 2010 4:30 PM