HOLLYWOOD CAMERAS TAKE ON THE BAD GUYS

Crime: Businesses Plan To Expand Surveillance Camera Program Along
Hollywood Boulevard

To boost crime-fighting efforts in Hollywood, local business leaders
are planning to expand the surveillance camera program along the
world famous boulevard.

Preliminary plans call for installing four additional video cameras
along Hollywood Boulevard at La Brea Avenue and between Gower and El
Centro avenues, Yucca Street and Cahuenga Boulevard and Selma and
Shrader avenues.

Those locations lie on the border of the Hollywood Entertainment
District, a business improvement district, which will pay for the cameras.

Hollywood business leaders and law enforcement officials say the
fledgling video surveillance system has been successful in aiding
police investigations and deterring criminal activities since the
first batch of cameras was installed in March.

"LAPD has documented that both arrests and crime around the cameras
have dropped, and we feel it out there," said Kerry Morrison,
executive director of the Hollywood Entertainment District. "If you
walk out in the boulevard, it's evident that the cameras have a
strong deterrent effect because you don't see drug dealings or other
people loitering anymore."

LAPD Hollywood Division Capt. Ron Sanchez recalled a case where
street video surveillance was instrumental in solving the attempted
murder of a diner at Burger King, who was stabbed in the neck with a
kitchen knife by a transient.

He added the criminal activities such drug-dealing, car theft and
aggravated assaults are significantly down - by up to 30 percent - in
five locations along Hollywood Boulevard where the cameras are placed.

"It's been extremely effective," said Sanchez. "Now you hardly ever
see anyone near the cameras when before there were blatant gang
members and others selling narcotics, and that is not the case anymore."

In Los Angeles, there are surveillance cameras in public areas such
as MacArthur Park and graffiti hot spots in Hollywood and the Valley.

The first Hollywood street cameras - mounted at intersections along
the boulevard at Cahuenga Boulevard, Vine Street and Highland,
Whitley and Sycamore avenues - have not only improved the quality of
life for residents and business owners but saved law enforcement
officials on manpower and overtime costs, says Sanchez.

"We've had cases where we had video surveillance to be used in court,
and there is a higher percentage of cases where the defendant does
not contest the charges because he was caught on tape," he added.

The growing popularity of video cameras as virtual law enforcement
has enticed others to follow suit, including the Hollywood Media
District which plans to buy five cameras that will be installed along
Santa Monica Boulevard, from La Brea to Vine Street.

Signs are placed in the vicinity of the cameras to warn the public
that they are being watched.

While civil rights advocates have opposed the use of police-monitored
cameras mounted on city streets, police and community members have
embraced its use.

"It is exciting," said Fran Reichenbach, a Hollywood community
activist. "I can't imagine why this would be a negative. I can't see
any downside. I heard some people feel their privacy is at risk, but
the reality is that police officers will be monitoring those cameras
and if we can't trust our officers with our privacy, then I think
there is a bigger problem that we are not seeing here.

"The greater good," she adds, "is for the people who live, work and
visit here."

The additional Hollywood area cameras will cost $80,000 for the
equipment and $25,000 a year for maintenance. Morrison expects the
cameras to be ready before the Hollywood Christmas Parade that will
take place during Thanksgiving weekend.