On Thursday, May 26th, the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association, held a meeting for NLNA board elections and to discuss the installation of surveillance cameras in the area.  A group of roughly 40 area residents crowded into the NL Community Center to vote from a ballot of 7 people to fill 5 open board seats.  Vice President Don Phillips and Secretary Janet Finegar were running unopposed for their respective re-elections.

Running for the first time or in some cases for re-election, the candidates all gave brief speeches about their reason for running and their current involvement in the community.  Among the nominees, Irene Lambrou was running for her third term; Katrina Mansfield is the head of Town Watch; and Josh Upin saw himself, at 32, as the future of the neighborhood.  Almost all referenced optimism in a future of growth and increased safety.  Fernando Benavides, Irene Lambrou, Katrina Mansfield, Stephen Richman, and Josh Upin were elected to the board.

Increasing Public Safety

Joe Rafter, the Chairman of the Penn Treaty Special Services District introduced the topic of installing surveillance cameras throughout the area to potentially increase public safety.  Rafter referenced the shocking death of Sabina Rose O’Donnell, frequent car break-ins, and a recent shooting at Front and Girard as reasoning behind the idea.  The Northern Liberties Business Owners Association has received a $100,000 grant and has proposed using half of this money to launch a pilot program of 48 cameras.  The PTSSD is seeking the voices of the community in considering the proposal.

Nina DeCosta from the NLBOA cited previous studies that have shown surveillance cameras are effective as a deterrent to crime.  She said the proposal would not only help protect neighbors, but also attract consumers to the area businesses.  With a background in web work, Tom Updegrove spoke about the more technical aspects of the project. Captain Michael Cram of the 26th Police District has been helping with the research behind the proposal and expressed his belief that the installation of the cameras would be an effective crime deterrent.

The project would launch with a pilot program that would place 4 cameras at 12 locations selected based on their crime statistics.  There would be consciously designed signage to bring awareness to the usage of surveillance cameras in those areas.  The cameras’ feed would run through Cloud-Based Monitoring to an internet-based server using real-time. If the pilot program succeeds, more cameras may be installed in the surrounding areas of Fishtown and Kensington.

After the presentations, meeting attendees were asked for their input and feelings about the proposal.  Many expressed their support of the idea and the hope that these cameras would protect them and their neighbors.  There was a lot of cautious dissent, though, that expressed the concern that the cameras would be an infringement on privacy.  Though the cameras would be placed only in business areas, some worried this type of constant, Orwellian surveillance challenges their civil liberties.  There was a discussion on whether to allow the recorded material to be made public or, if limiting its access to only certain organizations would alleviate these concerns.  Some also suggested that deleting the data after a certain period of time and, suggested that a clear, public statement of purpose would be a fair compromise.

When a hypothetical vote was taken, four to one of meeting attendees were in favor of the installation of surveillance cameras.  This issue will continue to be discussed and considered by the PTSSD.  Stay tuned to The Spirit for future developments.