Advertisement

Florida city latest to install public surveillance cams

surveillance cam

Following in the footsteps of larger cities like Chicago and Baltimore, West Palm Beach, FL has begun a trial run of public surveillance cameras meant to keep criminals off of the streets and plying their trade indoors, where they belong. West Palm Beach police will be placing four high-tech cams, which can pan, tilt, and zoom in to read a license plate from half-a-mile away, along high-crime Clematis Street, with plans to deploy as many as 100 of the the $17,000 devices in the next two years. The WPB cams can also be programmed to detect gunshots, although this and other cutting-edge features drive up the price of each unit. Even though public surveillance cams bring up sticky issues of privacy, and groups like the ACLU harp on their 1984-esque possiblities, cities that have actually had these systems in use for awhile cite both a reduction in crime and an upswing in crimes solved due to the all-seeing eyes.

[Via Smart Mobs]