City officials in Richmond, Calif., located near San Francisco, are finalizing details on a $4 million contract with ADT Security Services to install 113 wireless video surveillance cameras in crime-ridden areas and the Port of Richmond, according to a newspaper report.
The three-year contract, which will include the purchasing, installing and maintaining of the cameras, is expected to be completed by the end of August. The surveillance system is expected to be installed and operational by the end of the year, Police Chief Chris Magnus told the San Jose Mercury News.
Richmond taxpayers are expected to pay $1.4 million for 26 cameras to be installed in high-crime neighborhoods around the city, and the North Richmond Mitigation Fee fund will contribute $110,000 for eight more cameras in unicorporated areas. Homeland Security and federal grants will fund $2.4 million for 79 cameras around the perimeter of the Port of Richmond, according to a city report.
The system will include wireless cameras that will transmit the images to both a dispatch center and temporary police station. The cameras will eventually have the ability to transmit directly to squad cars, Magnus told the newspaper.
Although some residents have voiced concern about the potential threat for loss of privacy, Public Safety Commission Chairman John Marquez says the public has largely been in favor of the surveillance cameras.
“The very first time we had a presentation on this, we started getting calls from people saying it was a good idea,” Marquez told the newspaper. “And every time we’ve had it on the agenda, there has been a positive response.”
