An eye toward catching crooks in action in Riverbank

Deputizing owners of private video surveillance cameras has helped law enforcement fight crime in places like Philadelphia, New Orleans, Salt Lake City and Fresno. Why not Riverbank?

City leaders this week asked staff to develop a program recruiting people who already have cameras mounted on homes or stores. If a ne’er-do-well sprays graffiti, steals a purse or commits some other crime within view of such a device, owners could alert police in hopes of helping solve cases.

“The program is likely to enlist the use of hundreds of cameras with public views,” says a report by Chief Erin Kiely. He and his officers provide police services through a contract with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department.

Police in nearby Modesto shared hopes in December of establishing similar partnerships with home and business owners. A few years ago, Modesto spent $360,000 installing city-owned surveillance cameras near its downtown clubs and at its Ninth Street transit center, and in 2014 the city enabled police to record footage on dozens of additional traffic cameras; some have helped investigations, Modesto police have said.

Kiely would like to do the same, eventually blanketing Riverbank’s public spaces with cameras that would not be monitored in real time but checked after crimes occur. His report acknowledged that “there is potential for some members of the public to have ‘Big Brother’ concerns.”

“Anyone out and about in public should have a reasonable expectation that they’re being observed,” Mayor Richard O’Brien said.

The grand vision would be expensive, however, so the Riverbank City Council decided to start with a volunteer registry.

The council also voted 5-0 at Tuesday’s meeting to pay Chris Ricci Presents $15,000 to manage Riverbank’s 40th Cheese and Wine Exposition this fall. The company, which hosts several other special events in Modesto and elsewhere, has managed Riverbank’s signature event the past two years for the same amount, and the next is scheduled for Oct. 8-9.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 4:30 PM with the headline "An eye toward catching crooks in action in Riverbank."