We look forward to seeing you there!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
D&C article (3/1/10) re: police cameras
Pam's note: At the end of this article, I noticed that the map shows only 2 cameras in our Lyell-Otis neighborhood. We brought in a grant for $250,000 and received promises of 10 initial cameras, with more to be added in the future. So, unless they are unmarked, we should be proud to be in a very desireable, low-crime area, and therefore, our property values will go up, as they should! We are safer than Park Avenue! HaHa! :)
Police cameras in Rochester get smarter
Brian Sharp • Staff writer • March 1, 2010
Those police surveillance cameras on the corner with the blinking blue lights have started getting a lot smarter, with software that can recognize hand-to-hand transfers of a drug deal, pan to the sound of gunfire or follow a fleeing suspect.
And, given problems with teens brawling at the Liberty Pole downtown, the nearest camera will count the number of people congregating and alert police if crowds reach a certain number. Or, if a group begins running to or from the scene.
Nearly two years after the Rochester Police Department launched its surveillance program, the city has 100 cameras with 20 more being deployed.With so many video channels, police are turning to sophisticated computer software to help monitor the video. The software is licensed for eight cameras, so far.
Software installation and training began last week."When I got hired, I had a radio with tubes," said police Lt. Michael Lesniak, who has been in law enforcement 27 years. "You had to turn it on and let it warm up for awhile. It had five channels."
On a computer in his downtown office, Lesniak recently pulled up live video from a street corner three miles across town and read the license plate off an Acura parked a block away from the camera.
"If you can imagine it, it probably can be done," he said.Cameras monitoring certain city property already can send out a text message to officers when on-site cameras detect trespassers. The plan is to tie in any alarm system linked to 911, so the nearest cameras can pan to that location when an alarm sounds. Police already have a test project operational at an unspecified bank.
Most police supervisors can pull up and direct surveillance cameras from computers in their squad cars, accessibility that soon might be extended to some officers' smart phones.
In addition to the visible cameras, police have some hidden cameras in the city. Police already have the ability to tap in to county park cameras and have expressed interest in linking to the City School District's 1,058-camera network as well.
Time for evaluation
For now, all the video feeds to a central command room at police headquarters on Exchange Boulevard downtown. Fliers of crime suspects hang on the command center walls. Reports on crime trends in city neighborhoods are routinely distributed.
Officers responding to a call near a camera can radio in and get an idea what is happening at the scene before they arrive.Cameras have caught a home break-in, a shooting and drug dealing.
Police credit the surveillance system for 203 arrests since mid-June, when statistics started to be collected. The department's camera unit, using what they saw on video, requested that officers be dispatched on average seven times a day during that period.
"We always said we would sit down and evaluate once we've had some run time," said George Markert, executive deputy chief of the Rochester Police Department. "I think we are at that point."
The system is built to handle 250 cameras and can be easily expanded. To date, the city has spent $2.8 million building it, some of that offset by grants. Cameras alone represent $1.7 million of the total.
The first phase of the new "video analytics" software will cost the city about $35,000."The original question came when these cameras were put up ... was there really a difference between that and a policeman standing on the corner?" said Gary Pudup, director for the Genesee Valley chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
"With a few cameras, the answer is probably 'no.'"Now you are talking about machines watching us? That brings it up to a different level."Any evaluation, Pudup said, should ask the question: How much is too much?
Neighborhood impact
In the Monroe County Public Defender's Office, lawyers can call up a Google map of police camera locations.The office is working on a procedure for getting video and having it certified so it can be used in court.
The expectation is that video will increasingly be submitted as evidence against defendants, but could be found to provide alibis as well, said Public Defender Tim Donaher. He is skeptical of software detecting hand-to-hand transfers, fearing it could provide justification to stop people who have exchanged nothing more than a handshake.
City Councilman Adam McFadden is also skeptical because he says many dealers have moved out of camera view. The only neighbor complaints he has heard about the cameras are from residents on out-of-view side streets now experiencing problems with crime.
"It's impacting some of our neighborhoods in a way we have to adjust and just be aware of," said McFadden, chairman of the Council's Public Safety, Youth and Recreation Committee.
Asked how many cameras still are needed, Markert said: "It's less than a camera on every corner, but the demand for these things from the neighborhoods is incredible."
Neighborhood requests are paired with crime data and other factors to determine where cameras should be located, Markert said.Sgt. Aaron Colletti, who oversees the surveillance system, envisions one day having a team of dedicated officers to deploy and make arrests.
"This thing has endless possibilities," Colletti said.
BDSHARP@DemocratandChronicle.com
Police cameras in Rochester get smarter
Brian Sharp • Staff writer • March 1, 2010
Those police surveillance cameras on the corner with the blinking blue lights have started getting a lot smarter, with software that can recognize hand-to-hand transfers of a drug deal, pan to the sound of gunfire or follow a fleeing suspect.
And, given problems with teens brawling at the Liberty Pole downtown, the nearest camera will count the number of people congregating and alert police if crowds reach a certain number. Or, if a group begins running to or from the scene.
Nearly two years after the Rochester Police Department launched its surveillance program, the city has 100 cameras with 20 more being deployed.With so many video channels, police are turning to sophisticated computer software to help monitor the video. The software is licensed for eight cameras, so far.
Software installation and training began last week."When I got hired, I had a radio with tubes," said police Lt. Michael Lesniak, who has been in law enforcement 27 years. "You had to turn it on and let it warm up for awhile. It had five channels."
On a computer in his downtown office, Lesniak recently pulled up live video from a street corner three miles across town and read the license plate off an Acura parked a block away from the camera.
"If you can imagine it, it probably can be done," he said.Cameras monitoring certain city property already can send out a text message to officers when on-site cameras detect trespassers. The plan is to tie in any alarm system linked to 911, so the nearest cameras can pan to that location when an alarm sounds. Police already have a test project operational at an unspecified bank.
Most police supervisors can pull up and direct surveillance cameras from computers in their squad cars, accessibility that soon might be extended to some officers' smart phones.
In addition to the visible cameras, police have some hidden cameras in the city. Police already have the ability to tap in to county park cameras and have expressed interest in linking to the City School District's 1,058-camera network as well.
Time for evaluation
For now, all the video feeds to a central command room at police headquarters on Exchange Boulevard downtown. Fliers of crime suspects hang on the command center walls. Reports on crime trends in city neighborhoods are routinely distributed.
Officers responding to a call near a camera can radio in and get an idea what is happening at the scene before they arrive.Cameras have caught a home break-in, a shooting and drug dealing.
Police credit the surveillance system for 203 arrests since mid-June, when statistics started to be collected. The department's camera unit, using what they saw on video, requested that officers be dispatched on average seven times a day during that period.
"We always said we would sit down and evaluate once we've had some run time," said George Markert, executive deputy chief of the Rochester Police Department. "I think we are at that point."
The system is built to handle 250 cameras and can be easily expanded. To date, the city has spent $2.8 million building it, some of that offset by grants. Cameras alone represent $1.7 million of the total.
The first phase of the new "video analytics" software will cost the city about $35,000."The original question came when these cameras were put up ... was there really a difference between that and a policeman standing on the corner?" said Gary Pudup, director for the Genesee Valley chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
"With a few cameras, the answer is probably 'no.'"Now you are talking about machines watching us? That brings it up to a different level."Any evaluation, Pudup said, should ask the question: How much is too much?
Neighborhood impact
In the Monroe County Public Defender's Office, lawyers can call up a Google map of police camera locations.The office is working on a procedure for getting video and having it certified so it can be used in court.
The expectation is that video will increasingly be submitted as evidence against defendants, but could be found to provide alibis as well, said Public Defender Tim Donaher. He is skeptical of software detecting hand-to-hand transfers, fearing it could provide justification to stop people who have exchanged nothing more than a handshake.
City Councilman Adam McFadden is also skeptical because he says many dealers have moved out of camera view. The only neighbor complaints he has heard about the cameras are from residents on out-of-view side streets now experiencing problems with crime.
"It's impacting some of our neighborhoods in a way we have to adjust and just be aware of," said McFadden, chairman of the Council's Public Safety, Youth and Recreation Committee.
Asked how many cameras still are needed, Markert said: "It's less than a camera on every corner, but the demand for these things from the neighborhoods is incredible."
Neighborhood requests are paired with crime data and other factors to determine where cameras should be located, Markert said.Sgt. Aaron Colletti, who oversees the surveillance system, envisions one day having a team of dedicated officers to deploy and make arrests.
"This thing has endless possibilities," Colletti said.
BDSHARP@DemocratandChronicle.com
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
KEEP THESE DATES IN MIND! FCWC - APPLY ON TIME! And please join with the Lyell 230 Group!
The next meeting of the Lyell 230 Group is scheduled for Thursday, December 17th at
5:00 p.m. at the Westside Church of Christ, 469 Lyell Avenue.
For more information about how YOU can help in this important endeavor, please visit: http://www.lyell230.org/
Please take note of just some of this group's recent successes!
http://www.lyell230.org/convicted.html
Hurray!
For more information about how YOU can help in this important endeavor, please visit: http://www.lyell230.org/
Please take note of just some of this group's recent successes!
http://www.lyell230.org/convicted.html
Hurray!
***************************************************
Hello All -
The Flower City Work Camp is once again seeking applications for people that would like home repairs on their house.
I have worked with this group the last four years and during that time they have worked on over 170 homes in Rochester. To qualify you must be a single owner occupied of low income. Applications will be accepted until 12/15/09 by mailing to Willie Hillberg. In January they will go and evaluate every application to determine the 40 most neediest people of repairs that FCWC can do. People should know by the end of February. Then during Spring recess over 500 youth and their adult supervisors will go the designated locations and work for three days doing home repairs at no cost to the owner. They are looking for homes with a variety of inside and outside work that can keep them busy for three days. They can not do roof or gutter repairs that are above one story, but that is really the only restriction.
If you have any questions, or want me to fill out the application, please contact me. This really helps some of our most neediest people and really gets results.
I can be reached via email at stechnac@cityofrochester.gov
Chuck
Councilwoman Palumbo's Assistant
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
JOIN US AT THE LONA HOLIDAY PARTY!
Please join us as we celebrate the holidays!
Monday, December 14th, 2009
at the Lyell Branch Library
from 6:15pm to 7:45pm
Please bring a delicious dessert to share with everyone!
And please invite your nice neighbors to join us as well!
Until then, have a Happy Thanksgiving!
No New Plates, No New FEES!
Please visit Senator George D. Maziarz' web site and sign his online petition against the New Plates mandate!
http://www.nysenate.gov/senator/george-d-maziarz
http://www.nysenate.gov/press-release/stop-new-license-plate-mandate-1
The D&C covered this, and you can read the article here: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20091111/NEWS01/911110357/1003/New-N.Y.-plates-evoke-nostalgia---25-fee
~~~~~
Also, FYI regarding the flagpole at Engine 5:
Mike Visconte called the mayor, and Mayor Duffy said that the pole would be fixed immediately.
Thanks, Mike!
http://www.nysenate.gov/senator/george-d-maziarz
http://www.nysenate.gov/press-release/stop-new-license-plate-mandate-1
The D&C covered this, and you can read the article here: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20091111/NEWS01/911110357/1003/New-N.Y.-plates-evoke-nostalgia---25-fee
~~~~~
Also, FYI regarding the flagpole at Engine 5:
Mike Visconte called the mayor, and Mayor Duffy said that the pole would be fixed immediately.
Therefore, we won't need to write any letters.
If this situation changes, I will compose a letter, and post it here for anyone to copy and paste.
Thanks, Mike!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
MEETING Agenda and Burglary/Robbery Reports: Nov. 9th, 2009
To see the following agenda and October's Burglary / Robbery Reports in a larger size, please click on it. It should open a full size page.
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