'Bridging the gulf' between police & residents, too
The Syracuse Common Council has agreed to buying surveillance cameras for high crime areas on the city West Side.
Monday afternoon's vote was unanimous, but councilors say they got the message from those who protested the plan.
Before the meeting, Civil Liberties Union chapter director Barrie Gewanter said there are concerns about putting a policy in place and on how the video is used. Also, at that news conference, Spanish Action League board member Ruth Beltran who was also representing LULAC. Both Latino community organizations oppose the cameras. She said there is a 'gap of trust' between the community and the police. Kristian Rodriguez, representing the Alchemical Nursery, voiced concerns about the use of surveillance cameras in general, saying they would not eradicate crime. John Brule from the Syracuse Peace Council said that cameras are a technological fix that will not work any more than other attempts at fixing the high crime problem.
Councilors voted unanimously for the cameras, which will take about 3 months to put in place. In that time, sponsor Councilor Bill Ryan promises meetings to firm up a policy on use of the video, and also a definite time period for evaluating their effectiveness, with residents as well as police taking a look. Ryan says the debate over the cameras, in many meetings on the west side, has also started the process of bridging the gulf between police and residents in the high crime neighborhoods.
Earlier coverage:Representatives from the Civil Liberties Union and three neighborhood organizations are calling on the Syracuse Common Council to table a proposed authorization of surveillance cameras of the city's west side.
The groups are concerned that guidelines for proper use of the cameras are not in place and that the plan is not well thought out.
The Common Council will vote on the cameras at its 1:00 p.m. meeting.
