Springdale expanding use of security cameras at public buildings

NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANTHONY REYES • @NWATONYR A security camera points down Friday at the entrance at the Springdale Youth Center. The cameras are installed in various public locations and are used to help solve and prevent crime.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANTHONY REYES • @NWATONYR A security camera points down Friday at the entrance at the Springdale Youth Center. The cameras are installed in various public locations and are used to help solve and prevent crime.

SPRINGDALE -- City officials are in the process of adding security cameras to the Springdale Youth Center and Springdale Aquatic Center.

City officials installed 16 cameras at the youth center during the past month, said Mark Gutte, director of the city's information and technology department. He plans to have three to four of the cameras installed at the Springdale Aquatic Center by the time it opens for the summer.

Security cameras

Current Springdale Locations

• Shiloh Square

• City Administration Building

• Springdale Animal Shelter

• Springdale Municipal Airport

• Springdale Public Library

• Criminal Investigations Division

• Springdale District Court

• Springdale Police Department

• Springdale City Jail

• Springdale Youth Center

Source: Staff report

There have also been discussions about adding cameras to the city's parks, said Wyman Morgan, city director of finance and administration.

Officials have been talking about the installation of the cameras at both centers for 1½ years, Morgan said. There is no connection to the recent homicides in the city.

The city has about 120 security cameras in place, Gutte said. They are all on public property and record footage when the cameras sense movement.

Each city department monitors video feeds that are applicable to them, Gutte said. They generally will have a monitor displaying the live footage.

The city first installed security cameras eight to nine years ago for the Springdale Police Department and Springdale City Jail, Gutte said. Some cameras were added in the past year to the parking lots around the City Administration Building and to Springdale District Court. The largest increase in installations of the cameras in the city has been over the past two years.

The cameras range in cost from $300 to $1,200 each depending on the features, Gutte said. The cameras for the youth center and aquatic center would be on the lower end of the range. Some of the cameras are purchased by the information and technology department, while others are included in the budgets of the departments that need them.

The entire project to install the cameras at the youth and aquatic centers will cost about $11,000, Gutte said. The money is coming from the Parks and Recreation Department's budget.

The cameras are mainly used for security purposes, Morgan said. There have been a few instances where the cameras would have been helpful.

Cameras are needed at the aquatic center because there has been a problem with people stealing cellphones, Morgan said.

At the youth center, there was a situation where video footage helped resolve an issue, Morgan said. The father of a basketball player complained an opposing player attacked his son. The situation was caught on camera, and the footage showed the opposing player tripped and fell onto the man's son.

The cameras can help deter misbehavior as well, Morgan said. A camera pointed at the front desk, where there is money, can be a deterrent for crime.

Allie Scott, front desk receptionist at the youth center, sat with a co-worker Thursday and watched video feeds from the security cameras on a computer screen. She said the camera pointed in her direction can help prevent theft at the front desk, because items have been stolen from that area in the past.

Kamond Robinson, 15, was at the youth center Thursday to play basketball. He said he goes to the center two to three times a month. Robinson said the cameras make him feel safer, because adults can see what's happening.

Shelbi West, 16, was in one of the gymnasiums at the center on Thursday. She said she goes there every Thursday to play basketball.

West said she thinks the cameras are good. She also said they aren't obvious and don't make her feel uncomfortable.

"It's good to know that they're there in case something does happen," she said.

The city also has cameras on most traffic lights in the city, but they don't record, Gutte said. They sense the movement of vehicles in order to change the lights for better traffic flow.

NW News on 04/27/2015

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