Mar 11, 2009 11:45 pm US/Eastern
Philadelphia Police Eyes In The Sky
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
There's a new crime fighting tool in Philadelphia. It's assisted in solving more
than 100 drug arrests, 20 robberies, and at least one homicide… all in less
than 5 months. Technology Reporter Stephanie Abrams shows us what police are
calling the ultimate eyewitness.
91 little cameras are spread out across the city watching
our streets, as eyes for the Philadelphia Police. "We're where you want to
be," said Police Chief Michael Feeney. "We're on the cutting edge of
all technology."
Chief Feeney says several attempts to put in a camera
system have failed, until now. The sophisticated cameras that were put in place
are controlled by fiber optics, and policemen thru an online, closed circuit
system. "If a job comes anywhere where we have a camera they can automatically
switch to those cameras and conversely if they see something they can
automatically go out over the air with it," said Feeney explaining a
symbiotic relationship with the patrols on the ground.
The cameras can pan tilt and zoom, and are capable of
picking up details. To demonstrate, I stood one block away from the camera
located at 6th and Spring Garden Streets. Through the monitors at the police
station, you could see the camera zoom in and get a clear picture of what I
look like.
We spoke with residents living near Broad and Girard
Streets where there are two cameras in place. They said they don't mind being
watched. "It makes the city real safe to have these cameras and it helps
out a lot of people," said Darryl Robertson of North Philly.
Police showed us how at times, residents have alerted
them. They showed us video of a man waving to the camera immediately following
a robbery. They also showed us video when the cameras captured a gun battle in
action. You can see the bullets fly, the smoke, and the man with the gun in
hand pulling the trigger. When police responded many people they interviewed
claimed they had nothing to do with it. They were outed by the ultimate
eyewitness. "The cameras don't lie, they can't be intimidated,"
exclaimed Chief Feeney. "We've made some arrests, some good arrests, with
the cameras already."
In fact, police say the cameras have already captured more
than 125 crimes in action. Captain Lou Campione says, "The numbers are
strong and as we continue to roll out the cameras city wide we expect them to
be even stronger."
Although there are 91 cameras in the city now, 200 will be
in place by July. Soon, the cameras will also be equipped to automatically
react to loud sounds. Chief Feeney explained how it works, "A gunshot goes
off in the area of the camera, and then the camera will automatically turn in that
direction."
That's technology focused on saving lives.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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