Even Small Towns Need Security Cameras

At the time of the 2000 Census, Newburg, Pennsyvania had about 372 residents. Located in Cumberland County, the tiny town has no traffic lights and no law enforcement, which has presented a problem for its inhabitants. That's why they've decided to take matters into their own hands.

During a borough council meeting last month, residents expressed a desire to install on-street surveillance cameras.

One of the cameras would be mounted somewhere outside of Teresa Guyer's Styling Salon. On January 15th, a car hit the telephone poll across the street from the salon - located on Main Street - and drove off. Guyer, the owner of the salon, called 911, but it took police officers an hour and a half to respond. Because the town is too small to hire its own law enforcement, they are forced to rely on state police located in the city of Carlisle, which is about 20 miles away.

And while crime isn't a major factor in the day-to-day lives of Newburg citizens, they do find themselves running across the occasional minor issue, including speeders and double-parked cars. Resident Jeremy Strayer, who lives on Main Street, told PennLive.com it's time for the town to get into the 21st century, "We might not have crime like Harrisburg and Hershey, but there are speeders and kids crossing the street.” Strayer said that in the past, his own car was hit with eggs and trash cans near his house were detonated.

Newburg Mayor, Susan Stump, says she's all for the cameras. “Cameras let people know that even though we don’t have a police department on hand, they can’t get away with anything.”

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Cameras Combat Crime in Amish Country

Located in the heart of Dutch country, Lancaster, Pennsylvania may have the image as one of the tranquil places in the country. But in reality, it's one of the most crime-laden cities in the country. In 2008, Lancaster ranked 9th among cities its size in violent crimes rates. For this reason, city officials took a step to protect their citizens by installing 160 cameras across four square miles within Lancaster. According to CBS, that's more cameras than major cities such as Boston or San Francisco.

The cameras are monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week by paid employees, who can zoom in and out when they see something suspicious. According to Lancaster Police Chief, Keith Sadler, the camera monitors are to call 911 when they see unusual activity and the police are immediately notified. As a matter of fact, live video feeds can be sent right to police dispatchers.

So far, the cameras have captured a number of crimes, such as DUI accidents, an illegal gun sale, and an assault on an elderly victim by a group of teenagers. The cameras also helped catch a murderer. According to the victim's mother, Freda Brown, the jury was able to watch everything that happened via camera footage of her 19 year old son's violent death.

But as with anything, the camera experiment is not without controversy. One Lancaster citizen says the camera captures him walking down his street or sitting on his front porch. His complaint is not that the cameras are in place, but who is behind the monitors watching them. While the cameras are funded partially by the city, they are also funded by private individuals, individuals who some citizens say have an agenda.

Joe Morales, the head of the security coalition that operates the cameras says he understands that the monitoring system is a touchy subject, "We understand how serious this is, the very serious nature of the work we're doing. And we know that it wouldn't take very much to damage the trust and integrity we've earned up to this point."

And the debate continues. Over the last seven years, since the cameras began being implemented, some citizens point out that the crime rate has held steady. But for Freda Brown, the cameras were an instrumental tool in bringing her son's murderer to justice.

According to CBS, at least four more cities in the United States are considering implementing the same program.