In an effort to address increased crime downtown, Madison officials passed a budget amendment to increase funding for camera surveillance Monday.
The Board of Estimates passed an amendment to the 2014 Capital Budget that will give the downtown camera surveillance program an additional $53,000 to the original $25,000 allotted in the budget but $22,000 less than in last year’s budget.
“The reality is that, this fiscal year, in 2013, we were able to add approximately 30 additional cameras downtown to our system,” Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said. “This amendment will allow for at least 14 additional cameras downtown next year as well as replacing our oldest cameras in the system.”
Funding still needs to be appropriated for the surveillance system because many cameras are out of date, Verveer said. He said the State Street cameras are “virtually obsolete” and no longer useful to detectives.
Verveer, who called himself a strong supporter of the camera system, said he believes the cameras help deter crime downtown.
“As we expand the number of cameras, we’re able to cover so much more of the very highly traveled areas,” Verveer said. “So this is extremely helpful to police investigators to solve [crimes], and I would argue this also has a deterrent effect on crime.”
Cameras are currently located in different parts of downtown as well as the University of Wisconsin campus. The system has already begun expanding to the Regent and Langdon Street areas, Verveer said. The budget amendment will also pay for cameras to be added to Library Mall in 2014.
Verveer said the city added seven cameras in just the last month in the upper State Street area to respond to increased behavioral crime issues in that part of downtown.
He said the cameras have especially helped in cases where students have been targeted by muggers, specifically for their electronics.
“Those sorts of crimes are increasingly captured by system, and [that is] invaluable,” Verveer said.
The cameras helped with the arrest of gunmen involved in a shooting at the 600 block of University Avenue during graduation weekend 2012.
Ald. Lisa Subeck, District 1, however, expressed concern about possible open records requests from citizens, which would require the MPD to release footage from the cameras.
Specifically, Subeck noted concern that people with “less than desirable” intentions, such as stalkers or perpetrators of domestic violence, could request to see the video footage.
Madison Police officer Susan Williams said video footage is only kept for approximately two weeks.
“If something is flagged for record request or evidence, it is moved and kept indefinitely,” Williams said.
She said video footage of anything but car accidents and reported incidents is rarely requested.
City Council will consider the Capital Budget in its entirety the first week of November.
