Dec 16, 2007 12:12 pm US/Central
Iron Range Town Mulls Surveillance Cameras In Town
BUHL, Minn. (AP) ―
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Sergeant Pat McKenzie of the St. Louis County Sheriff's office say it's a cost-efficient way to deter crime.
CBS
Local law enforcement officials are pushing a plan to place six surveillance cameras around this Iron Range town of less than a thousand people.
Sgt. Pat McKenzie of the St. Louis County Sheriff's office, which has overseen law enforcement in Buhl since the city disbanded its police department in 1999, said it'd be a tool for solving and deterring crime. But some residents are asking: What crime?
"If we had the crime I could understand," said Mark Frahm, co-owner of Billy's Bar in town.
But McKenzie said it's an affordable way to offer more law enforcement coverage.
"We don't have enough presence and the city is not able to afford enough police presence in town," McKenzie said. "This is a supplement. It's an effective, efficient way to supplement the law enforcement that they can afford."
McKenzie proposed placing cameras near the city limits at the three main highways into town, as well as one apiece near the city park, the city beach and at an industrial park outside town. He said having only three ways to get into town would make the cameras particularly effective in keeping out potential criminals.
"It's also our hope to deter people from coming to town if it's well known that coming and going from town you are going to get caught on video surveillance," he said said.
The city council has hired a consultant to look at the total cost of the proposal, and Mayor Craig Puhlford cautioned that discussions are still "in the infant stages."
But, beyond the question of whether such heavy surveillance is needed in a small town, some residents are also worried about the potential invasion of privacy.
"How intrusive do you want your government to be? That's what this is all about," said Shari Swanson, a member of the city council opposed to the plan. "Why should we be under surveillance? We're the citizens of the community. It's creepy and we're going down a bad road."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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