Exclusive look at DA’s new surveilence camera program
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BY ALEX MITCHELL
The Bronx District Attorney’s
offi ce is visualizing a
new way to approach petty
crime activity, literally.
Partnering with the Bronx
Chamber of Commerce and
the borough’s business improvement
districts, the DA’s
offi ce unveiled a security camera
sharing program titled
the Bronx Community Assisted
Mapping System at the
end of 2018.
Called CAMS for short, it’s
essentially an intranet of security
camera locations provided
by members of each of the borough’s
BIDs, allowing the DA’s
offi ce exclusive access to crimerelated
digital footage.
Prior to this program,
NYPD would be responsible
for collecting security surveillance
camera footage from
businesses along the commercial
corridors and deliver the
haul to the DA’s offi ce by hand.
“Police aren’t always able
to obtain the footage needed,”
said Kerry Chicone, chief of
strategic enforcement in the
DA’s offi ce. “Many cameras
are private and many don’t
have footage stored on site.
Also there’s many times when
offi cers aren’t aware of some
camera locations even, not to
mention often times the footage
is deleted before it can be
obtained,” she explained.
Essentially this new program
removes most of the
problems currently encountered
when obtaining the evidence
that could indisputably
solve a crime. The DA’s offi ce
would have a confi dential, interactive
map of surrounding
security cameras not only in
the immediate vicinity of a
crime, but its surrounding
area as well.
“So now, as soon as a crime
is reported, someone from our
offi ce can view multiple footage
angles that responding offi
cers may not have been aware
of or had not had the ability to
obtain previously and that’s a
huge aid to the prosecution,”
Chicone explained.
She continued, saying that
the police get fl ooded with amateur
footage in high profi le
cases like the ‘Junior’ Guzman
Feliz case, but hardly
anything is forthcoming during
the more common, everyday
robberies and store holdups.
Currently the program has
nearly 1,000 surveillance cameras
enrolled and that number
continues to grow.
Bronx Chamber of Commerce
president Lisa Sorin
praised the new initiative,
calling it “one of the best
things that can happen for
Bronx businesses.”
Prior to her presidency,
Sorin was the executive director
of the Westchester Square
BID where she had worked
with the New York state to
have nine surveillance cameras
installed in the BID’s
most traffi cked areas.
And the program is already
paying dividends according to
the Chamber.
“It’s already worked dozens
of times. The merchants
have given us very positive
feedback on this program,”
Sorin said.
Also in the east Bronx, the
soon-to-be Throggs Neck BID
is ready to welcome the CAMS
program. Bob Jaen, president
of the Throgs Neck Merchants
Association who was instrumental
in setting up the BID
believes that the camera network
will be put to good use.
The impact of sharing 24-
hour surveillance cameras
with the Bronx DA shouldn’t
be a concern to shoppers, the
Throggs Neck merchant said.
“I’ve never been a supporter
of ‘big brother’ -like
cameras watching over us,
but this doesn’t seem to be the
case, especially with the new
ferry stop that Throggs Neck
is anticipating. Upping our security
is defi nitely something
positive,” Jaen said.
Bronx District Attourney Darcel Clark meets with Bronx BIDs to discuss CAMS program. Bronx DA’s Offi ce
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