Post by shoreman on Aug 13, 2006 11:55:51 GMT -5
Cameras let law enforcement zoom in on trouble
Jeremy Fugleberg
jfugleberg@argusleader.com
August 9, 2006
argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060809/NEWS/608090315/1001
With the punch of a button and a twist of his wrist, the sheriff focuses in on a food vendor sign announcing deep-fried veggies at the Sioux Empire Fair.
"We can zoom in pretty good with this," said Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead.
His view comes courtesy of a high-tech camera perched under the painted G on the back of the fair's grandstand.
The camera is part of a new $60,000 portable network of wireless cameras meant to keep watch on fairgoers this week.
"With limited resources, it lets us dispatch resources to where they're needed the most," Milstead said.
Inside a small white mobile trailer in the middle of the midway, a sheriff's deputy looks for trouble with the help of four flat-panel displays. The screens show feeds from six wireless cameras and two fixed cameras mounted on a mast that rises high above the trailer.
"The quality of the product is good enough that you can zoom in and identify individual people if you need to," Milstead said.
A homeland security grant meant for infrastructure protection paid for the the camera system, he said.
Local governments in other states have been accused of misusing the money.
"There's kind of a nightmarish story about equipment that was being bought and put in garages to never be used and collect nothing but cobwebs and dust," he said.
Not so with the camera system, he said. His deputies monitored the recent air show, and Milstead said he plans to use the system again at the upcoming LifeLight Christian music festival.
Besides watching for trouble, Milstead said the cameras help monitor crowd flow. They also help officials direct ambulances responding to emergencies.
Fair manager Matt Adamski said the cameras fit in nicely with his existing security plan.
"It gives us just that one more layer of security over the top of everything else," he said.
Besides sheriff's deputies, Adamski said the fair hires off-duty officers and other security officers to stay visible and keep things calm.
While some fairgoers said they felt strange about being on camera, others didn't mind.
"It doesn't bother me at all," said Jesse Freeburg of Brookings. "It's Sioux Falls, so I feel safe anyways."
Kim Rebis of Sioux Falls said in her mind, a clear conscience was the key to not caring about the cameras.
"If you're not doing anything wrong, there's nothing to worry about," she said.
Jeremy Fugleberg
jfugleberg@argusleader.com
August 9, 2006
argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060809/NEWS/608090315/1001
With the punch of a button and a twist of his wrist, the sheriff focuses in on a food vendor sign announcing deep-fried veggies at the Sioux Empire Fair.
"We can zoom in pretty good with this," said Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead.
His view comes courtesy of a high-tech camera perched under the painted G on the back of the fair's grandstand.
The camera is part of a new $60,000 portable network of wireless cameras meant to keep watch on fairgoers this week.
"With limited resources, it lets us dispatch resources to where they're needed the most," Milstead said.
Inside a small white mobile trailer in the middle of the midway, a sheriff's deputy looks for trouble with the help of four flat-panel displays. The screens show feeds from six wireless cameras and two fixed cameras mounted on a mast that rises high above the trailer.
"The quality of the product is good enough that you can zoom in and identify individual people if you need to," Milstead said.
A homeland security grant meant for infrastructure protection paid for the the camera system, he said.
Local governments in other states have been accused of misusing the money.
"There's kind of a nightmarish story about equipment that was being bought and put in garages to never be used and collect nothing but cobwebs and dust," he said.
Not so with the camera system, he said. His deputies monitored the recent air show, and Milstead said he plans to use the system again at the upcoming LifeLight Christian music festival.
Besides watching for trouble, Milstead said the cameras help monitor crowd flow. They also help officials direct ambulances responding to emergencies.
Fair manager Matt Adamski said the cameras fit in nicely with his existing security plan.
"It gives us just that one more layer of security over the top of everything else," he said.
Besides sheriff's deputies, Adamski said the fair hires off-duty officers and other security officers to stay visible and keep things calm.
While some fairgoers said they felt strange about being on camera, others didn't mind.
"It doesn't bother me at all," said Jesse Freeburg of Brookings. "It's Sioux Falls, so I feel safe anyways."
Kim Rebis of Sioux Falls said in her mind, a clear conscience was the key to not caring about the cameras.
"If you're not doing anything wrong, there's nothing to worry about," she said.
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