Thursday May 24, 2007

By Mark Abramson / Daily News Staff Writer

A high-tech fix to curbing vandalism at the Beckner Shelter covered picnic area in San Bruno Park appears to be working, city officials say.

The city installed a $6,000 FlashCam-880 camera that issues a verbal warning and flashes a bright light to deter vandals. The camera uses a motion sensor to detect activity, and if the warnings are not enough to scare someone off, it takes a picture.

Vandalism was a serious problem at Beckner Shelter, which the city rents out for parties and other events, Mayor Larry Franzella said. Vandals would cut up picnic tables, set fire to trash cans and cause other damage, he said.

"At Beckner Shelter, it has pretty much eliminated graffiti," Dave Perazzo, San Bruno's parks and facilities manager, told the city council Tuesday evening. "It's very effective."

Perazzo said the camera will have a significant impact in reducing the amount of time and money the city spends to replace damaged property at Beckner. He estimates that the city has spent almost $5,000 and more than 60 hours in staff time to deal with the vandalism in the past three years.

But before the city bought the camera, it tested the FlashCam-880's effectiveness during a three-month trial period that started in September. The city purchased the camera in January and installed it in February. A warning sign also was posted to notify people that the picnic area is under surveillance between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., when the park is closed.

The camera, however, cannot monitor the entire park, Perazzo said in response to Council Member Rico Medina's question about its effectiveness outside the covered picnic area.

Medina said he would like to see how effective the camera is during the summer, when schools are out and the parks are used more often.

Despite its limitations, the camera is still viewed as a success, Perazzo said.

"The camera has done what we said it would do," he said.

E-mail Mark Abramson at mabramson@dailynewsgroup.com.