Can you see them in the photo to the right? There, attached to the boom-arm hanging over the street. Cameras. Surveillance cameras. Are they fixed on a specific point, such as that street intersection of the crosswalk? Or perhaps they are roving cameras that can be panned and zoomed by a camera operator in a distant windowless office somewhere? And who exactly is operating these cameras and for what purpose?
Closed circuit television surveillance cameras are finding a larger place in American life every day. Why? One reason might be that citizens are becoming more comfortable with them. Another might be that citizens believe that cameras can deter crime. It’s probably a combination of those reasons, and maybe some more I haven’t considered.
The City is currently engaged in conducting a survey of our citizens asking them to tell us their feelings about the use of surveillance cameras in Eden Prairie. We are asking them for their thoughts on cameras in places such as public parks, public parking lots, private parking lots, and around Eden Prairie Center mall. We are also asking them for their feelings about the installation of cameras at signalized street intersections, so-called “photo-cop” cameras, that could be used to enforce traffic laws remotely.
The surveys are starting to come back in now. We sent out 450 surveys to a random sample of citizens. As of yesterday, I think we had about 150 returned. A pretty good return rate for a mail-back survey. This project started out as an intern project for a student who is entering the Humphrey School’s Master of Public Administration program. He is doing all of the data entry, analysis, and preparing a final report.
We do not have a community surveillance camera program in Eden Prairie right now. We’re not actively planning one for the immediate future. However, it’s a subject that is going to present itself to us someday. I see this survey as a chance for citizens to give us an early signal on the subject. I’ll share the results in this blog when they are ready.
