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Denver’s High Tech Anti-Graffiti Cameras Fail To Catch Any Graffiti

With word of leads fizzling in the case of the recent Times Square bombing despite being in one of the most surveiled locations on the planet—even capturing multiple images of the guy in action—it should come as no surprise that Denver’s highly praised anti-graffiti cameras have yet to catch one vandal. Not one. They’ve been in place for over four months now and despite a whole lot of jubilee among law enforcement and assurances from the company selling the cameras they’ve yet to show any promise. Paul Feldman, the president of the North Carolina-based company that specializes in the spy equipment and counts NATO as one of it’s customers, had this to say right before the cameras were being installed last year, “If you’re a tagger in the city of Denver, you’re going to get caught.”

The only things the cameras have captured is citizens of the Mile High City going about their daily business. The eight, cordless, high tech cameras promised to alert law enforcement by text message when they detect “graffiti-related movement,” even boasting how the new system will allow them to “catch taggers red-handed.” And not only have they failed in contributing to a single arrest, but there’s already been more graffiti removed this year compared to last (in square feet): 2007: 349,561, 2008: 640,396

But one of the biggest problems the cameras are giving law enforcement is manpower that these things were supposed to reduce. Officers have to be specially trained with these cameras, and that also means less time catching real criminals.

[RockyMountainNews]

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