“Can you zoom in, what does that guy’s shirt say?”
“Which direction did the suspect go after the robbery? And what’s he wearing?”
Such requests by law enforcement to review security camera footage from “sidewalk cams” are no longer limited to major metropolitan centers.
The tiny island of Key West is in the process of installing security cameras at seven different intersections along Duval Street, Mallory Square and the Outer Mole cruise ship pier.
The installation is already complete at Mallory Square and the Outer Mole, Assistant City Manager Patti McLauchlin said Tuesday. The U.S. Coast Guard had been insisting for years on that additional layer of port security.
The second phase of the $398,000 camera project – the Duval Street cameras – is underway.
“We’re probably still four or five months away from having them all installed and operational, so by next year’s Fantasy Fest and New Year’s Eve events, we’ll be all set,” she said.
City and police officials aren’t interested in invading anyone’s privacy, but in preventing
and solving crimes and protecting the public, McLauchlin emphasized, crediting former Key West Police Chief Donie Lee for making the initial budget request. Current Chief Sean Brandenburg also is committed to the enhanced “patrols,” at the intersections of Duval and Front, Caroline and Eaton streets, as well as the 400, 700, 800 and 900 blocks of Duval, and the corner of Duval Street and Truman Avenue.
The new camera system will allow designated city users to monitor people and activities at each location in real time, using either a laptop or a mobile phone. The footage can also be stored, archived and reviewed later to help with criminal investigations as well as traffic monitoring during special events.
“The entire project is designed to provide the city with the basis to develop enhanced smart city services as needed in the future,” McLauchlin said.
As part of the Coast Guard security requirements for cruise ships, Mallory Square and Outer Mole/Truman Waterfront cruise ship security checkpoints must be continuously monitored. Both facilities have been cited by the Coast Guard for failing to monitor the restricted areas within the facilities continuously as required by federal regulations, city documents state. “The security cameras will allow the Key West Police Department to monitor the secure areas of both Mallory Square and Outer Mole Pier during times when cruise ships are docked and when the docks are vacant.
“The cameras will also allow the police to monitor cruise ship passenger transportation vehicle operations, passenger screening activities, identification of unauthorized persons in the secure areas, and any other potential security risks both land-side and water-side,” the documents state.
Following a lengthy bidding process in which all bids were twice rejected by city officials for not complying with the bid requirements, city commissioners in March approved the $398,000 contract with Integrated Fire and Security Solutions Inc., a Fort Myers-based company that included a two-year maintenance contract at no additional charge.
The city has signed agreements with Keys Energy Services to share some of its power poles, and a test camera will be installed at one of the intersections in the coming weeks.
Then the rest of the equipment is staged and ready to be scheduled for installation shortly, McLauchlin said.
