Mixed reviews on surveillance cameras

The Chicago Tribune reports.

However, while crime in Humboldt Park fell nearly 20% in the months after surveillance cameras were installed, there was no decrease in crime in nearby West Garfield Park, according to the report, released on Monday by the Urban Institute, which studies social and economic policy.

According to Chicago Sun Times, one theory for the disparity is that there were 53 cameras per square mile in the Humboldt Park area, versus 36 per square mile in the West Garfield Park area.

“The difference in camera saturation could have an impact on the degree to which cameras are able to catch crimes in progress, and thus officers to intervene, make arrests and deter other potential offenders,” the study said.

Urban Institute director Nancy La Vigne warns that the cameras lose their deterrent power if police do not habitually monitor and respond to on-camera crime effectively, because "the offenders are going to get wise to that pretty quickly”, notes Huffington Post.

Chicago police officers have made more than 5 000 camera-related arrests since 2006, Lt. Maureen Biggane, a spokeswoman for the CPD, told the Sun-Times. But poor video quality has undermined the validity of blue light camera footage in court, and it is considered an unreliable way to identify a suspect, prosecutors say. Blue light camera footage also rarely includes high-profile crimes that reach a courtroom.