Officials have begun to install 50 public police cameras in recent weeks as part of the citywide camera network. While a far cry from Lawrence's 500 cameras or roughly 71 per square mile, Methuen's efforts represent a doubling of the city's public camera program to 100 cameras.
"You are not going to do a lot in the city of Lawrence without walking into some camera," Mayor Neil Perry said. "Methuen is like a giant butterfly, so there are nooks and crannies you can go and still not be seen."
The exact locations of each new camera was not discussed publicly but Perry said the cameras are located near parks, schools and entrances and exits to the city. Perry said while city officials fear revealing the exact locations may hinder the cameras effectiveness; they are far from hidden.
"There is no intent to hide the cameras, they are big blue things with a white bulb,” said Perry. "You can easily recognize them."
A "few" cameras were previously put up in the Arlington neighborhood but they aren't part of the public camera program.
While Police Chief Scott McNamara said the primary function of the cameras is to provide "forensic value after a crime has been committed;" the cameras can be monitored live at the city's dispatch center and on computers including from laptops kept in cruisers.
"If we receive a 911 call about a car accident at an intersection where we have a public camera, our dispatcher can access the live feed to monitor the situation in real-time," said McNamara.
"This allows us to provide immediate, real-time information to the responding officers, improving our response and enhancing public safety. "
Perry said the camera's have already proved their effectiveness including resolving a hit-and-run accident.
"In many instances, these cameras have provided crucial leads that would have otherwise been unavailable, aiding in the resolution of a wide range of cases from hit-and-runs to homicides," McNamara said.
Perry said before the initial introduction of the program, city officials held numerous public sessions in different neighborhoods.
"We want to assure people, we are not trying to look into your house, this is not Big Brother," said Perry. "The cameras are not monitored 24/7."
Perry said the cameras are instead "sporadically" watched.
City Council Chair Joel Faretra said there were some initial concerns about privacy from council members, but once their questions were answered, support for the program was unanimous.
Since then, he said, the cameras "had shown to be helpful" and allowed police to track issues from one community to another.
McNamara said while the footage is available to officers and dispatchers, there are safeguards. He said footage is erased from the system if not preserved within 30 days and access to the system is carefully controlled.
"Access requires entering unique sign-on credentials, which create an audit trail to ensure accountability and track usage," added McNamara.
He said the clarity of the cameras can "vary." In most circumstances the cameras are set up for passive recording and far away enough that they can't capture facial features.
"However, if the cameras are being actively monitored during an ongoing situation, we can zoom in to capture finer details, such as license plate numbers or distinct markings on clothing," he said.
But he said the department does not use facial recognition technology and instead cross-references it with lists of suspects.
The cameras are also effective as a deterrent particularly for "premeditated crimes," said McNamara.
"Take, for instance, a neighboring city that boasts over 70 public cameras per square mile. This robust camera network has significantly bolstered crime-solving efforts, capturing offenders either before or after the crime," said McNamara. "As a result, those engaged in activities like narcotics transactions have realized the risk of detection in such a monitored environment. Consequently, many offenders opt to relocate to cities with less stringent surveillance, contributing to the unfortunate uptick we've observed in drug activities within Methuen's residential areas."
McNamara said with more cameras he aims to push those seeking to commit crimes out of "the entire Merrimack Valley."
While a line item in last year's budget funds both the cameras and license plate readers, McNamara said the city has yet to install any of the readers. He said state police cruisers do have some active readers on the highway. The items described as Phase 2 of the camera program carries an estimated cost of $180,000.
McNamara said there is an important distinction between a license plate reader and a red light camera with the reader used to aid in criminal investigations not for monitoring traffic violations or issuing tickets.
"For instance, in the event of a shooting in a specific area at a particular time, if we suspect the perpetrator’s vehicle passed by one of our license plate readers, we can retrieve the relevant data," he said. "This data would show us which vehicles passed the reader around that time, potentially providing critical leads and aiding in the investigation."
The city is also working on procuring a ShotSpotter system near the schools and parks.
"If a gun is fired it can tell you to within 400 feet to where it was," he said.
Perry said he hopes to both increase coordination with Lawrence and add 50 more cameras before he leaves office.
© 2024 The Eagle-Tribune (North Andover, Mass.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
