Chicago Camera Network

Mayor outlines elaborate camera network for city By Tara Burghart The Associated Press September 9, 2004, 3:20 PM CDT

The city plans to link more than 2,000 public surveillance cameras in a network that would use sophisticated software to alert authorities to potential crimes or acts of terrorism, Mayor Richard Daley said Thursday.

The project involves cameras in public spaces such as streets, sidewalks, schools and airports. Private companies eventually could choose to join their cameras to the network for use in emergency response situations, Daley said.

"Cameras are the equivalent of hundreds of sets of eyes. They are the next best thing to having police officers stationed at every potential trouble spot,'' Daley said.

The project, to be paid for with a $5.1 million federal homeland security grant, is not expected to be in use until the spring of 2006.

Daley scoffed at concerns about invading people's privacy. He said the aim of the cameras is improving safety and that all of the city's cameras would be located in public spots.

City officials said the bulk of the network's cameras already are in use at O'Hare International Airport, on the city's transit lines and in public housing buildings, parks and schools, along with 30 police are using to try to curb violent crime.

An additional 250 surveillance cameras still to be bought will raise the number available to more than 2,000, said Ron Huberman, executive director of the city's Office of Emergency Management. The locations for the new cameras have not been determined.

The cameras wouldn't all be continuously monitored.

Software would be used to pick up out-of-the ordinary activity on the incoming video images

such as a bag being abandoned in a stairwell, a car pulling to the side of a highway, or movement in an area off-limits to people.

When the software noted such suspicious behavior, it would alert staff members monitoring the cameras and they could notify police, medical personnel or a tow truck

whatever the situation called for.

Operators in the 911 center would also be able to learn whether a camera exists in the area when they receive a call, then be able to control the image to help direct aid to a victim or gather evidence for police, officials said.

Daley said private companies could choose to join their cameras to the network

for a yet-to-be-determined fee -- so that 911 operators would have access to those cameras should something go awry in a private building.

State Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago) said Americans don't realize how often they are being monitored. His proposal to limit the number of surveillance cameras installed by police failed in the General Assembly during the latest session.

Hendon said he believes cameras can be valuable when placed at potential terrorist targets, such as airports or water plants, but he believes too many are located in black and Hispanic neighborhoods.

"We can have police protection without spying on people who are doing nothing wrong,'' he said.

Ed Yohnka, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union in Illinois, said his group is not concerned about the city's cameras as long as they are recording activity in public spaces.

But he said the effects of the boom in closed circuit monitoring is something citizens probably should debate because surveillance cameras are often portrayed "as a panacea'' to problems like crime.

City officials said they studied surveillance systems used by Las Vegas casinos, along with the Department of Defense and the City of London, where it's widely estimated that the average Briton is scrutinized by 300 cameras a day.

The Baltimore region is also trying to build a network of around-the-clock surveillance cameras, and other cities have placed cameras during big downtown events.

The Chicago system would exceed existing projects in how it would tie cameras to emergency operations, Huberman said.

Huberman said the Chicago camera network would not incorporate face-recognition technology. Tampa police tried the tactic

designed to recognize potential terrorists and criminals by matching people on the street with a database of mug shots -- but abandoned it after two years, citing its failure to recognize anyone wanted by authorities. Copyright (c) 2004, The Associated Press