The two projects for city-wide cameras in Carson are progressing.
A March resolution included the installation of 402 closed-circuit television cameras both inside and outside of all city parks and facilities. The installation of cameras at Mills Park has almost been finished, according to Ken McKay, manager of public safety services for Carson. The following building to receive the new cameras is expected to be Carson Community Center. After that, staff will install cameras in other parks.
“It’s a big, robust program that I’m really excited (about),” said McKay during a project update at the city council meeting on Tuesday, August 1. “Although it took a while to complete, the project is worthwhile and will benefit the city.”
Veterans Park, Carson Park, Mills Park, City Hall, and the Juanita Millender McDonald Community Center were previously the only locations with video surveillance systems.
The only location with an access-control system in place is City Hall. However, because these cameras are so old, they can no longer be repaired or maintained, according to officials.
Aside from City Hall, the community center, and the corporate yard, cameras will be installed throughout the project at all city parks. City officials claim that the new system offers the city better, more reliable security.
“The best part of this, in my opinion, is our storage capacity,” McKay said. “From recording for up to 25 days, we had to record over it in order to record for up to 90 days.”
73 license-plate readers are part of the second camera project and will be strategically placed throughout the city at intersections and other busy areas.
All passing vehicles’ license plates will be captured by these cameras automatically. The vehicle database of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department will then be searched using the license plate number, and the police will be notified if any suspicious activity is detected. Additionally, it records the information of any vehicles whose owner may later engage in illegal activity, according to McKay.
“So I like that part, because if you go through today, it may not ping you, but you do something tomorrow, and we catch your car, we are going to ping you later and we are going to come after you later,” he said.
The license-plate readers haven’t been installed yet as the city is still waiting for the arrival of all hardware from the vendor, which “could be any day now”, McKay added.
According to city staff, the overall price for the five-year contract for the city’s license-plate reader program is $815,215.24. On the other hand, it is anticipated that the project to install cameras at parks and other facilities will cost $5.1 million.
The total number of violent crimes in Carson decreased from 274 in the first half of 2022 to 245 in the same period of 2023, according to data from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault are examples of violent crimes.
Property crimes, which include burglary, larceny theft, grand theft auto, and arson, also saw a slight decline. Between the first half of 2022 and the first half of 2023, it decreased from 1,709 to 1,675.
In the city’s most recent high-profile shooting, which happened in June, a fight that started at a house party left eight people, aged 16 to 24, injured.
Read More: Can Security Cameras See Inside Cars?
Source: dailybreeze
