By Maysen Marolda
Staff Writer
The Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach police departments have taken measures to increase the safety of their residents through the use of video cameras and hidden body-worn cameras. These measures would be beneficial to the South Bay because they would ensure safety by preventing crime.
Manhattan Beach plans to install video cameras to serve as visible crime deterrents with multi-directional, license plate-reading technology at seven entry points to the city this fall. These cameras will allow the city to scan license plates to find stolen vehicles and vehicles involved in major crimes. Similarly, Hermosa Beach is considering equipping police officers with small, hidden body cameras that would be worn by officers at all times and activated during any police action. Results from a citywide survey will determine if the city will implement these measures.
In Manhattan Beach, authorities will use footage from the cameras to help locate suspect vehicles or reactively solve crimes, MBPD Chief Eve Irvine said. Because these measures are not surveillance cameras, they will be largely useful in identifying people who commit crimes without invading on residents’ privacy, providing a clear win-win situation for every resident.
Additionally, the multi-directional feature of the cameras would be largely beneficial as they would operate in several directions that would enable a large area to be under surveillance through the use of just one camera. These cameras are known to be very efficient in detecting crime, according to the United States of America Department of Justice Networth website.
Criminals want the easy way out without being noticed for the actions they intend on committing, Irvine stated. Therefore, with the implementation of multi-directional cameras as a visible crime deterrent, people are instilled with a fear that they are always being recorded. Consequently, their chances of committing the crime are decreased, which advantageously has the potential to lessen the crime rate within the community, said Irvine.
In Hermosa Beach, the possible implementation of the BWC program would allow for the HBPD to identify and address an infraction, HBPD Captain Milton Mc- Kinnon said. Therefore, body cameras would add a profitable component to the HBPD’s methods of solving crimes. In cities like Redondo Beach, where the cameras are implemented, they have been found to de-escalate criminal situations and have served as an important tool in follow-up, said Mckinnon.
Although the license plate-reading cameras and the BWC program would serve as preventative measures in ensuring the safety of the beach cities, they may be viewed by residents as an infringement on their personal privacy. However, the cameras would assure that no crimes would occur without proper consequences for the criminals, said Irvine. The safety of the city should come before residents and their complaints about surveillance.
Through the addition of license plate-reading cameras as well as the BWC program, an extra layer of safety would be added to the existing personnel and downtown camera systems in the South Bay, leading to a desired goal of increased resident and business safety. Although these measures may seem extreme, they are necessary in order to prevent crimes.
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