La Loma residents want video surveillance in neighborhood parks

Modesto's most assertive Neighborhood Watch group wants to boost its security detail with cameras in public parks, a plan aimed at catching crooks looking for a hiding place.

The La Loma Neighborhood Association is building on nearly two years of work to unite residents in a security program that includes patrols and an alarm system.

It's asking Modesto for permission to hoist several cameras in public places so its security company can keep an eye out for thieves while monitoring the city's property.

"It's actually going to save (the city) a lot of money," said Mike Moradian, the La Loma Neighborhood Association president. "We know that people are camping down there, living down there. We're hoping to take care of two things at one time."

Moradian took his proposal last week to the City Council's Safety and Communities Committee, where he found a mostly supportive audience of elected and appointed officials.

The cameras could be up this summer if the council approves an operating agreement with the neighborhood association in the next few months.

"The La Loma Neighborhood Association has been very proactive in patrolling its own neighborhood and trying to improve the quality of life in its neighborhood," said Councilwoman Kristin Olsen. "This is just another step in that direction that the residents are supportive of, and they're willing to come together and pay for it."

Councilman Will O'Bryant, who heard the association's plan with Olsen, has reservations.

Like Olsen, he supports using surveillance cameras to bolster public safety resources, but he's concerned about placing them in parks.

He said crimes that tend to occur in parks, such as drinking alcohol without a permit, don't warrant the extra scrutiny. O'Bryant said he'd prefer to see police-run surveillance systems in business districts or busy stores.

"Do I support cameras for police? Absolutely," he said. "Do I support them for parks? I can't really say no. They're spending their own money."

Cameras could help city, too

Modesto is working on a proposal to set up surveillance cameras downtown, a project touted as a way for the Police Department to monitor crowds in a discreet manner.

City employees said the La Loma offer would provide a similar benefit, while helping Modesto in other ways.

Modesto lost about $58,000 worth of equipment to metal thieves in La Loma parks over the past year. The neighborhood association's proposal to put alarms on park lighting equipment and to watch the parks could help secure the city's property, city officials said.

"Having a couple people keeping an eye on the park should help everyone," said Julie Hannon, the city's acting director of the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhoods Department.

Police say they want to support the neighborhood association's goals. Guards from Al's Certified Alarms have made several citizens' arrests since they started patrolling the neighborhood for the association at the end of October.

"This isn't something that's happening around the city," police Sgt. Craig Gundlach said. "The La Loma neighborhood has really united to take an active role in the protection of their community."

The association has worked closely with the city on a number of proposals in the past year. Moradian is a regular at the council's safety meetings; he spoke in favor of a ban on Dumpster diving this year. He also meets with other Neighborhood Watch groups to encourage them.

Motivating other neighborhoods represents a key piece of the association's success, said Dean Wright, a deputy county counsel and La Loma resident.

Transient "folks that would ordinarily come to our neighborhood, I think, now are unfortunately moving to other neighborhoods, and I can only encourage other neighborhoods to model their plans after our plans."

About 400 of the 2,400 La Loma neighborhood homes, or one in six, pay a voluntary $20 monthly fee to support the security plan, Moradian said. Households can pay an additional $19.50 to have the company respond to an alarm at their home.

Area's parks heavily used

Allen Woods, owner of the security company and a La Loma resident, said the parks are an important part of the neighborhood's protection plan because so many residents use them.

Last week, his employees detained two people suspected of using graffiti to vandalize equipment at Moran Estates Park, which the association recently had refurbished.

He spotted several lights that had been stripped of their wiring while walking in East La Loma Park on Friday, creating a hazard for early-morning joggers.

Other times, Woods said, thieves take stolen goods and sort them in parks.

"If we're keeping an eye on somebody, we'd like to be able to go in the park and see what they're up to," Woods said.

Wright said the cameras would not represent an invasion of privacy in a public place.

"If I'm in a public place, it's for my protection," he said. "We live in a period of time where the needs of security are going to have to be balanced against the rights of the individual."

Bee staff writer Adam Ashton can be reached at aashton@modbee.com or 578-2366.