Catching crime on camera

Click here: www.whec.com - Catching crime on camera http://www.whec.com/article/stories/S463943.shtml?cat=565   Posted at: 06/02/2008 11:20:01 PM

Updated at: 06/03/2008 06:09:25 AM

By: Thalia Hayden

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Catching crime on camera

Two surveillance cameras were installed in Rochester today, and eventually there will be more. The first one was put up in the Jones Park neighborhood. "What was going on with the street girls and the activity - that couldn't happen in the park and have the little kids running around," says resident Carleen Alhart. Girl fights, drug deals, and prostitution are just a few of the problems plaguing the park, and that's exactly why the city is installing surveillance cameras. "It's not a neighborhood where folks do a lot of night time walking, so hopefully it'll give folks the feeling of safety to walk in the area," says City Council Member Carolee Conklin. And this isn't the only place getting a camera. The city is putting up 50, all across Rochester. Police say the cameras will clearly capture anything you can see on the street. "We'll be able to see what the naked eye could see just as if we were there," says Rochester Police Department Deputy Chief, George Markert. Markert says the cameras are high quality -courtroom quality- they have night vision capabilities, making it easy for them to identify suspects. "It's a tool to help us in areas where we may not be able to get into or where criminals can see us coming - those types of things," says Markert. Police say it's a live system, so they'll have instant access to the situation. And for anyone worried about their privacy, the cameras will be blocked from seeing into people's homes and windows.