In an increasingly popular effort to curb crime, Manhattan Beach plans to install video cameras with license-plate reading technology at seven entry points to the city this fall. The City Council unanimously backed a plan to pursue the $400,000 network of cameras, which would alert law enforcement every time they detect a vehicle flagged in databases as stolen or wanted in a criminal investigation. The idea of having cameras at egress and ingress points was first proposed to city leaders last year.
Police Chief Eve Irvine said it would cost “millions of dollars” to have them at all 50 entry points to Manhattan Beach, so it would be most effective to focus on seven high-traffic areas:
• El Porto at 45th Street and Highland Avenue
• Rosecrans Avenue at Sepulveda Boulevard and at Aviation Boulevard
• Aviation Boulevard at Marine Avenue and at Manhattan Beach Boulevard
• Artesia Boulevard at Sepulveda and Aviation boulevards
Irvine stressed that authorities will not monitor video feeds, but only use specific footage to help locate suspect vehicles or reactively solve crimes. “These are not surveillance cameras, these are security cameras — there’s a difference,” Irvine said. “I just want to make sure people understand we’re not Big Brother, we’re not surveilling, we’re not watching over at all times.” Irvine said police must have a legitimate investigative purpose to access the footage, which would not include audio recordings. The multidirectional cameras would not point at private homes or businesses and would not be used for minor moving violations.
Unless needed long term for investigations, footage will be deleted from the Police Department’s servers after 30 days, and encrypted data from the license-plate readers will be kept for only one year. The cameras will not only help law enforcement with investigations, Irvine said, but also create visible crime deterrents.
“Criminals want the easy way out,” she said, noting that other cities including Long Beach and Beverly Hills are using the technology. “They don’t want to deal with being noticed.”
