Security Cameras on 49th Street?

City leaders are moving forward with safety enhancements on the 49th Street corridor of Gulfport. The council unanimously agreed to include a $15,000 upgrade in lighting on the busy street and is now looking into adding security cameras. 

Vice Mayor Dan Liedtke revealed a proposal to create a safe camera grant program during Tuesday night's council meeting. Liedtke said the program would be a great opportunity for the city to partner with local businesses, instead of putting the burden on the city and police department.

According to his proposal, each business would match what the city pays. If the city were to look at spending $10,000 on 10 cameras, 10 local businesses could apply to partner and match $1,000 per camera.

Liedkte said if 10 businesses join the program, 40 cameras could be added on 49th Street, which, according to his example, would result in approximately 2.5 cameras per block from 22nd Avenue South to our north border.

“I thought, how do we get the businesses involved. It’s shared responsibility," he said.

Liedtke's proposal came during a discussion about 49th street public safety enhancements. Gulfport Police Chief Robert Vincent submitted several options for councilors to consider, including a pilot security camera program — separate from Liedkte's proposal.

Below are the suggestions/programs suggested by the chief:

1. Upgrading all decorative lamps to LED systems, which will result in better visibility. Cost: $15,000 per year
2. Add a sworn officer to supplement the department's existing community resource officer. According to the memo, the CRO spends about 50% of his time working on professional standards cases (internal affairs, background investigations, training, ect.) The addition of another CRO would result in one full-time equivalent dedicated exclusively to problem-oriented policing. The estimated cost for adding a community resource officer is approximately $85,000 a year.
3. Relocate the GPD Criminal Investigations Section to the 49th St. Neighborhood Center at 1617 49th St. The estimated cost: $20,000.
4. Install a pilot video surveillance system int he corridor. According to the memo, cameras would be placed in locations where they would be most effective based on crime analysis, in consultation with established neighborhood groups in Gulfport and the Child's Park neighborhood of St. Petersburg. Vincent is proposing a system that would be primarily reactive in nature, with no funding for personnel to conduct live monitoring. Estimated cost for hardware, software, installation, and maintenance for a two-camera system is $20,000. This will also be paid for with police forfeiture funds.

As a result of the discussion, councilors unanimously agreed to budget for new lighting and showed interest in learning more about adding cameras. Three of the councilors agreed to hire a full-time position. Vice Mayor Dan Liedkte opposed hiring another officer due to the cost and Councilor Christine Brown said she was "on the fence" about the possible hire.

"I'm on the fence of relocating the division and hiring another officer. I was initially against the cameras, but I"m interested in learning more about safe cam," Brown said.

Councilor Michael Fridovich said he wants to learn more about the safe camera grant program as well. "That's building relationships with the businesses," he said.