Last month, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly announced he would ask for city funds to place 400 surveillance cameras in areas of New York where crime rates remain unacceptably high.
This is good news and we expect his plan to work. We've had similar success in the private security industry.
Since joining Classic Security in 2003, I've received countless calls from NYPD detectives requesting building surveillance video recordings from the properties our officers patrol, because of a crime in the area.
As a former New York City police officer, patrol supervisor and investigator, I am well aware of the effectiveness of surveillance cameras identifying criminals.
In addition to physically patrolling buildings, Classic Security performs contract work to install cameras and instruct security officers on the use of these devices.
We believe a "technology-smart" security officer is a more effective officer. Surveillance cameras in public areas serve two purposes. First, they function as a deterrent against crime.
In several locations where the NYPD has placed cameras, the crime rate has already dropped as much as 30 percent, particularly along Fordham Road in the Bronx, where seven cameras were installed in January.
