By John Nickerson
Staff Writer
December 3, 2007
NORWALK - Police are using high-powered surveillance cameras to bust drug dealers and keep an eye on Calf Pasture Beach.
In February, the Common Council approved spending $100,000 in drug forfeiture funds to buy eight Sony cameras that can identify faces or read license plates from hundreds of feet away, and now the program is almost in place, said Lt. David Wrinn, information systems manager.
Police have three cameras on poles at Calf Pasture Beach and one at Marine Police headquarters on Water Street. The drug and vice squad is using two portable cameras, and another portable is being prepared for use at an undisclosed site.
Another camera that was part of a trial program and not included in the February proposal has been transmitting from a pole at Veterans Memorial Park since 2005.
Chief Harry Rilling, Deputy Chief Rosemary Arway, Deputy Chief Thomas Kulhawik and Wrinn can view the images and control the cameras, as can some officers working drug investigations. A work station in the dispatch center can control the cameras.
In the coming months, video feeds from the cameras will be piped into each of the eight dispatcher posts on the third floor of police headquarters, Wrinn said.
Lt. Peter Randall, who supervises Special Services Division drug and vice operations, said cameras are being used to build cases against drug dealers.
"They are a tremendous asset to have in terms of identifying individuals, vehicles and license plates. They provide very, very high resolution picture quality and an extraordinary amount of telephoto range," Randall said.
Randall, Wrinn and Rilling will not discuss the whereabouts of the portable cameras used by Special Services because they don't want to put drug investigations at risk.
According to a police department proposal earlier this year to the Common Council and Public Safety Committee, antennas at Calf Pasture Beach, the Monterey Village housing complex and police headquarters transmit images from cameras at Calf Pasture Beach.
According to the proposal, the cameras used by Special Services have a maximum range of 2,000 feet from those antennas. In areas with taller buildings, the cameras can transmit from about 1,000 feet, Wrinn said at public meeting in June.
The remote cameras must stay within a quarter mile of any of the three antennas, which includes most of South Norwalk and not beyond Taylor Farm in East Norwalk.
Although the original plan included eight cameras, police decided to upgrade to a newer model that works better at night, Wrinn said. As a result, the city purchased seven cameras.
The cameras have proven their worth in other communities, Rilling said.
"These cameras will not be able to view any areas where a police officer has no right to be. We won't be looking into people's homes and other places where people have an expectation of privacy," he said.
South Norwalk residents seem to have few qualms about the cameras, which can hold about 10 days worth of images. At a well-publicized June community meeting at police headquarters, only two people attended. Both supported use of the cameras.
Capt. Ernest Vitarbo said he is compiling rules by reviewing surveillance camera guidelines from the International Association of Chiefs of Police and other groups.
Until rules are adopted, access and control of the cameras will remain restricted, Rilling said.
Wrinn said the project has stayed within its $100,000 budget.
"It took a little longer than expected to get up and running, but we are at that point now. I'm looking forward to the coming beach season because that's when I think we will see some valuable use of the cameras," he said.
Recreation and Parks Director Michael Mocciae said he was pleased the three cameras are transmitting from the park.
"It is an excellent deterrent for vandalism," Mocciae said. "And for natural disasters, so we can look into the park if we can't get in."
The park has not been vandalized since the first camera went in just before July 4, he said. Mocciae said he would like to put more cameras at Calf Pasture and Veterans Memorial Park and introduce them to Cranbury and Mathews parks.
Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
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| Norwalk police dispatcher Jim Wrinn works at his desk at headquarters where a computer screen shows the feeds coming from surveillance cameras in different parts of the city. Norwalk spent $800,000 earlier this year to buy eight cameras. (Andrew Sullivan/Staff photo) December 3, 2007 |