Cameras talk trash to would-be criminals

By Gary Emerling
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
April 23, 2006

Baltimore officials say "talking" cameras that issue stern warnings to trespassers have resulted in less graffiti vandalism and illegal dumping throughout the city.

"If you had seen the areas before we had placed the cameras, there was a whole lot of activity," said Glenwood Thomas, an investigator with the city's Environmental Crimes Unit. "Now we don't have that activity at all in those locations."

Cameras with audio messages have become increasingly popular across the country, though civil liberties advocates question their effectiveness at deterring crime and say the devices can encroach on privacy.

"They're particularly effective and ... there are particular privacy issues," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the District-based Electronic Privacy Information Center.
He also called them "uniquely creepy."

About 250 cities, including Cincinnati and the Los Angeles area, use the cameras to curb activities such as illegal trash dumping and graffiti, said Ken Anderson, president and co-founder of the California-based Q-Star Technology, which developed the cameras.

One jurisdiction in the South uses five of the cameras at a cemetery to stop grave robbers, he said.
"They're a very effective deterrent," Mr. Anderson said. "If you're out somewhere in the dark in the middle of a park and you're up to no good, the flash and the voice together are quite startling."
Baltimore officials voted in November to place five of the cameras in areas targeted by vandals and small-time contractors looking to skirt landfill fees by dumping their trash into alleys and vacant lots.

The solar-powered, motion-activated cameras cost about $5,000 each and have been used since January. They sound a message that says, "Stop. This is a restricted area. We have just taken your photograph and will use this photo to prosecute you. Leave the area immediately."

The city has set up two "dummy" cameras that sound the warning but do not take a picture.
"The areas where they have the cameras, [vandals] have ceased dumping there," said the Rev. Robert C. Burley, president of the Oliver Community Association, which requested and received cameras from the city. "We need more cameras."

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