May 06, 2015

Organizations have increasingly been relying on video surveillance technology to more effectively oversee infrastructure and keep better tabs on the movement of people, and such solutions thus far have been instrumental in lowering crime rates and keeping employees safe. Many towns and cities are taking notice, and more municipalities are taking steps to either arm themselves with this technology or to mandate its use among local businesses.

Here are three examples of how towns are turning to video surveillance:

1) Berkeley, California
In March, city officials voted on a law mandating that liquor stores install video surveillance systems after two murders occurred outside of one establishment in particular. ABC affiliate KGO reported that many liquor store owners were in support of the technology, and that the city thought it would help keep violent crime rates on their downward spiral in Berkeley. The city is not the only municipality in the area to have considered such a measure, as the nearby city of El Cerrito has had a similar ordinance in place since 2007.

“The safety of the public is worth a small investment,” Berkeley city council member Kriss Worthington said, according to KGO.

2) White Plains, New York
Early last year, city officials here unanimously voted into a law an ordinance that requires certain businesses such as liquor stores, pharmacies and pawn shops to not only have a video surveillance system in place, but to also make sure that their feed is sent to the police. According to The Journal News, the law went into effect in February, and while it is the first such ordinance in the area, a number of major cities – including Chicago and San Francisco – have similar laws on the books.

“I think it will help keep crime down,” Domingo Moronta, owner of Domingo’s Deli & Pizza in White Plains, said of the new law to The Journal News. “If they know you have a system, it will make people think twice before they try anything, especially if they know most of the stores have cameras. It’s a good idea.”

3) Pekin, Illinois
Larger cities like Berkeley and White Plains are not the only municipalities with video surveillance laws on the books. In April, officials in Pekin reviewed a proposed ordinance that would require all bars in the town to have a high quality video surveillance system in place, the Pekin Daily Times reported. The law, if passed, would require bars to have a system that captures who enters and leaves the premises, and businesses would have to keep video data for at least 30 days.

Just how effective are these laws?
While many towns and cities across North America have or are considering laws mandating the use of video surveillance technology in certain scenarios, these ordinances are not without their detractors. However, past data shows that these laws can be enormously useful in deterring crime.

For example, in 2011, the city of Mesa, Arizona, instituted a law that requires convenience stores that were frequently the location of crimes to take a number of steps to curtail illicit activities there, including installing video surveillance. Thus far, the law has been successful at reducing crime in these former hot spots, The Republic reported in April. According to the Mesa Police Department, they have made 33 percent more arrests at these convenience stores while fielding 34 percent fewer callsthere over the past four years. In particular, at the approximately 40 stores affected by the 2011 law, police received around 90 percent fewer calls during 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., a period which used to be a common time period in which the Mesa Police Department received calls.

“When you see these numbers, it’s amazing … looking at it from the city’s side of saving dollars and keeping safety around the sites,” said Councilman Alex Finter, who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee, according to The Republic.

As towns and cities across the United States increasingly mandate the use of video surveillance systems at a variety of stores, many small business owners and police departments are seeing innumerable benefits from such solutions. With video surveillance, it becomes easier than ever before to keep a constant eye on high-crime areas and detect issues from occurring without devoting a ton of time, money and manpower to the solution.