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Saturday, Jul. 19, 2008

Virtual Vigilance

Ripon's cameras help solve crimes, expose lies

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RIPON -- When security cameras debuted in Ripon a couple of years ago, the Police Department felt "eyes in the sky" would deter criminals and help solve crimes.

What the department didn't expect, according to 21-year veteran Anthony DeMarinis, was that the cameras also would be used to show crimes never took place.

Such as when a gas station owner called 911 in a panic to report two Latinos had just robbed him. The heist was out of view of the store's security camera, so there was no information beyond the owner's vague description -- or so it appeared.

"We have a camera nearby, so I got the footage to see if I'd recognize anyone," said DeMarinis, a detective who handles follow-up investigations. "What I saw was nothing. There was no robbery. The guy had just lied about it."

Instead of the police searching for phantom criminals, the owner was charged with insurance fraud and filing a false report.

"I thought cameras would be a great tool to eliminate a suspect or give us more information on a crime," DeMarinis said. "Now I realize they're doing a lot more."

Ripon is one of a handful of Northern San Joaquin Valley cities using cameras to "virtually" patrol the city. Modesto is studying proposals to put cameras in La Loma Park and downtown.

There are no statistics to show the direct impact that cameras have on crime, but DeMarinis can point to plenty of examples:

A suicide attempt was averted when dispatchers were able to direct officers to the exact site as cameras monitored a girl.

A graffiti problem was solved when cameras recorded vandals returning to their car -- confirming an officer's belief.

A resident reported being assaulted with a pipe in downtown Ripon, but later admitted it took place in Modesto after being told the cameras had seen nothing.

"She thought we'd respond to it faster than the Modesto police, so she said it was here," DeMarinis said.

This city of about 15,000 residents installed cameras in 2005 and now has 76, many focused on high-traffic areas such as the skate park and intersections. Live footage streams into police headquarters, allowing dispatchers to study many potential problems before officers arrive.

"The officer responding to the call also can see what the camera sees," communications supervisor Linda Johnston said. "A laptop in his car can show the footage from any camera in town."

While 56 cameras are stationary -- a dispatcher or officer can use a computer to rotate the lens should the need arise -- 20 are shifting every 15 seconds.

"Rotating cameras allow us to see a large area, increasing our coverage," Johnston said. Those cameras typically will monitor parks, schools and public spaces.

It's rare when officers use the camera to catch a culprit in the act, Johnston said, because dispatchers are viewing 76 screens that are 8 inches by 8 inches.

A "hot spot" screen expands to 2½ feet by 2½ feet, providing dispatchers with a wide-screen shot or detail so fine they can read a license plate from 200 yards.

"We use it for parking enforcement, too, if we get a complaint from someone," Johnston said.

The system also is linked to security cameras in two banks. If an employee hits an alarm button, the video instantly streams into the large screen, giving the dispatcher a live image.

"We haven't used it, but I think it's good for people to know we have it," Johnston said. "We've got four banks in town, so if you try anything, you don't know if that's the bank we're linked to."

The police have access to the bank camera only when the alarm button is hit, Johnston added, so there are no issues with privacy.

Initial worries that the cameras could be used to monitor residents at their homes, or might be viewed by unauthorized employees, appear to have been quelled.

"We have an open-door policy and we're happy to give tours so people see exactly what we see," Johnston said. "They see cameras are focused on public places, such as parks, streets and such."

The degree of reliability is an unexpected benefit, said Dan Brannon, the Police Department technician who maintains the system. There has been just one breakdown, a wire fried in one camera, since the system was introduced in 2005.

Bee staff writer Richard T. Estrada can be reached at restrada@modbee.com or 578-2304.