As the Board of Estimates approved plans yesterday to bring constantly monitored surveillance cameras to three of Baltimore's violent crime areas, officials moved ahead with another initiative to bring more cameras to city streets.
City officials hope the cameras will expand the reach of the city's police force. Mayor Martin O'Malley likes to call the cameras "force multipliers."
"It has been a constant source of frustration all these years," the mayor said yesterday before the Board of Estimates meeting. "We go in and reclaim real estate only to see it revert to lawlessness and the criminal element."
The board's unanimous approval of the $2.9 million contract means that as soon as May, 80 cameras will be mounted along Monument Street, Greenmount Avenue and Park Heights Avenue.
Those monitoring the closed-circuit cameras will be able adjust their views with a joystick.
O'Malley also wants to use cameras to promote business. He has asked the city's economic development arm, the Baltimore Development Corp., to work with the police to bring cameras to troubled commercial areas.
"It's hard to have economic development when you have to step over 15 addicts on your way to the market," he said.
These efforts are the latest facet of a broader city effort to use cameras as a deterrent. Cameras were first installed at the harbor as a homeland security initiative. That security project was extended to downtown's west side, where 55 cameras aim to complement redevelopment efforts.
Pennsylvania Avenue will be the first area to try the cameras purely as an economic development tool.
That area was chosen because it leads the city in narcotics calls, said Kristen Mahoney, the Police Department's chief of technical services. "Statistics show that's where we need to move first," she said.
The Police Department will spend $300,000 on the cameras to line the 1500 to 1900 blocks of Pennsylvania Ave. by May.
These cameras will be different from those that will be trained on the violent crime areas. They won't be continuously monitored. And they won't be subtle.
With flashing blue-and-white lights and signs pointing them out, these cameras are meant to send a message to potential criminals before they do anything.
"In no way are they meant to blend into the scenery," Mahoney said.
Trash, the perception of crime and actual crime are the biggest problems that can stifle a struggling business district, said Mary Pat Fannon, director of the BDC's Main Streets program. And if the flashy cameras keep drug dealers away, it can only help, she said.
The cameras, which can be installed in a matter of hours, are also portable, so the city could shift them as needed from neighborhood to neighborhood.
Rick Sussman, president of the Pennsylvania Avenue Merchants Association and owner of a pawnshop called the Northwestern Loan Co., said he is eager for the cameras to arrive. His only concern is that because they are so easy to move, his community won't be able to hang onto them permanently.
"I think they will be a great deterrent," he said.
