Newark to have more
eyes on crime
Seven new cameras will double
surveillance network's size
By PHILLIP LUCAS • The News Journal •
December 19, 2010
NEWARK -- The size of Newark's surveillance
network will soon double with City Council planning
to buy seven new security cameras to help the
police department monitor crime.
Over the past six months, a network of seven
lightpost surveillance cameras has helped lead
police to suspects in several assaults and drunkendriving cases. Emergency dispatchers also have
been able to more quickly respond to vehicle
accidents along Main Street, said police Master Cpl.
Gerald Bryda.
In its infancy, the surveillance network also has won
praise from council members.
"They're priceless when it comes to solving crimes,"
said Jerry Clifton, deputy mayor and District 2
representative.
The original surveillance network cost the city
$200,420 and was purchased from the Avrio RMS
Group, a firm that specializes in surveillance
networks for municipal and federal law-enforcement
agencies. The additional cameras will cost $61,460
and will be paid for through a combination of three
federal grants.
Officials have not determined when the new cameras
will be installed.
The current camera network covers areas of Main
Street and Cleveland Avenue. The new cameras will
cover Elkton and Chapel roads, officials said.
Although the Newark system is smaller than the
surveillance network installed in Wilmington, the
cameras have many of the same capabilities.
Video feeds from them are monitored by Newark
police patrol lieutenants and emergency
dispatchers, Bryda said. Emergency staff monitoring
the cameras can pan and zoom to cover a range of
areas from stationary locations and can focus on
more specific areas where suspicious activity may
be happening.
"We have all this data; we should be able to look at it
and be able to see if we've got criminal activity in
places we're not aware of," said Stu Markham,
District 6 representative. "These days, we need the
help to concentrate our police officers where they're
needed."
City officials plan to eventually link the surveillance
network with the system used in the University of
Delaware's Intelligent Campus Safety System project
-- a network of 32 cameras that monitor key areas of
campus.
Bryda said officials are working with the university
of determine how footage from each system can be
shared and viewed by campus and Newark police.
Mark Seifert, project manager for the University of
Delaware surveillance system, said school and city
officials will meet shortly after the new year and that
he hopes to have information from the systems
integrated by the first quarter of 2011.
Since they were installed in the summer,
surveillance cameras on campus have reduced the
amount of time officers need to arrest suspects in
some cases.
In an attempted armed robbery on the north campus
just after 3 a.m. on Halloween, cameras recorded the
incident and footage was clear enough to capture
the license plate number of the getaway car.
"It was fascinating because it showed you the power
of the video," Seifert said. "You could see the
suspects chasing the student. It was certainly an
important piece of the investigation and the arrest."
Officers found the suspects' address and arrested
two of the four individuals involved when they
returned home about 6 a.m.
"Other police jurisdictions across America are
sharing information," he said. "Really it just acts as a
force multiplier for the police department."
Contact Phillip Lucas at 324-2789 or
pslucas@delawareonline.com.