25% of IMPD Security Cameras Not Working

This is pretty typical. We first learned last fall that security cameras along the Monon Trail weren't working after a rash of crimes occurred where people were attacked violently. Indianapolis' Department of Homeland Security has installed about 100 security cameras around the city, many of which are located downtown, to aid IMPD in crime detection and prevention. According to a WISH-TV report, at least a quarter of those cameras are not currently functioning. Part of the problem appears to be that only one server is being utilized to handle all 100 cameras, more than it can handle.

 . . . Chief Bates told 24-Hour-News 8's Daniel Miller that right now one server is being used to monitor all of the cameras.

"At any one time its very difficult for this server to keep all 100 plus cameras up and running," Bates said, "There are some cameras that are obviously just broken; it may not be the camera itself, it could be the transmitter. It could be a lot of different things within the camera itself." Chief Bates said age and weather conditions are also to blame. A private security firm is responsible for fixing them.

"It could be anywhere from $15,000 to $25,000 a year to maintain all the cameras," he said.

Deputy Chief Bates said they hope to have all of the cameras working in the next two weeks, but another one could always break down between now and then.

The Department applied for a federal grant. That grant has been approved to get two more servers to monitor the cameras.

However it could be a couple of months before the servers are up and running to monitor the rest of the cameras.

Again, the Department is dependent on a federal grant to make the cameras work correctly because there is no priority in the city budget for funding public safety as claimed by Mayor Greg Ballard. Police officers have to purchase their own toilet paper for district offices because the city can't afford to stock the district offices with basic supplies. If the batteries fail on their tasers, they have to purchase batteries out of their own pocket to make them work. When will someone ask what happened to all the money that the city derived from that 65% increase in the local income tax to support public safety in 2007. We have 200 fewer police officers than we had in 2007, even after relying on a federal grant to hire 50 new police officers, and we aren't funding new police recruit classes to take the place of retiring police officers. Yet we have $10 million laying around to give to billionaire Herb Simon's Indiana Pacers, and the Mayor and council are now set to raise two more taxes to provide more funding to the CIB to pass out to the billionaire sports team owners. Will this city ever get its priorities straight?