New York, NY - NYPD Begun Installing More Than 500 Cameras Around The City

New York, NY - The Police Department, much to the chagrin of civil libertarians, has begun installing more than 500 cameras at more than 200 locations throughout the city where street crime has been a problem or where tourists tend to gather.

Police hope the cameras do for the streets what cameras in housing facilities have done for residents, with those 3,100 cameras fueling double-digit drops in crime, according to Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, the NYPD's chief spokesman. "The cameras have proven to be very effective," the department said.

On Fordham Road near Kingsbridge Road in the Bronx, one location where department cameras have been installed, police in a nearby surveillance van can monitor what is being recorded in real time.

Many of the other cameras in the department's $9.1-million program will strictly record what goes on the streets where they are posted. Police said, however, that the cameras also have the capability to be used as monitors.

At about the same time, police expanded "Operation Safe Store," an initiative aimed at putting video cameras in bodegas and grocery stores where thieves or gunmen have previously struck. While each camera and installation costs the NYPD about $1,000, police sources familiar with the program say it's money well-spent and helps build bridges with merchants.