The video surveillance seen in Las Vegas’ casinos and hotels may be coming to the city’s taxicabs as well.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the Nevada Taxicab Authority is considering requiring digital cameras in all Clark County cabs. The plan, to be considered by the authority Feb. 24, would involve retrofitting the county’s 1,900 taxicabs with cameras at a cost of $400 to $700 per cab.
Authority administrator Yvette Moore told the Review-Journal that the cameras would be a deterrent for criminals and an investigative aid for police. “’My personal belief is that obviously it’s a deterrent for a person that’s sane and does it (a robbery) as a crime of opportunity,” Moore says.
The proposal would require recording to automatically begin when a door opens or a meter is activated. Images would be date and time-stamped and stored inside on-board computers. The images then could be downloaded onto laptop computers and would be viewed only as needed. Decals would be mandatory for placement in prominent locations inside the cab and visible from outside the vehicle, alerting passengers they are being monitored.
The bill for buying, maintaining and installing cameras would be picked up by cab companies.
