Executive Summary

This proposal details a strategy to embrace current technology available to enhance the ongoing efforts of law enforcement to curtail crime in Coral Springs. This technology will support the efforts of law enforcement to have Coral Springs remain the safest place to live, work and raise a family, well into the future. The technology utilized will be surveillance cameras in public areas. This proposal takes into consideration and addresses the concern that crime will rise in the near and distant future in Coral Springs. This approach is based on the following factors;

1. The population of Coral Springs has grown in the past decade, catapulting Coral Springs to the 11th largest city in Florida. With that comes the crime issues of such a population.

2. External factors from surrounding areas (the likely development of a major casino at our border) will bring new challenges to our community.

3. The fiscal constraints placed on local governments will have a significant impact on maintaining the current level of services.

4. The fiscal concerns will be exacerbated by the downward turn of housing costs as well as concerns about the economy at a national level.

5. When the economy declines, service calls for public safety increase. In the face of tighter budgets, the increased service must be met.

Proposal Details

Initial Phase:

The first phase of this proposal is to identify surveillance cameras currently in use in Coral Springs. These cameras may be located at businesses, on residential properties or publicly funded.

A volunteer committee, under the direction of the police department, would be utilized to gather this data. Individuals with prior law enforcement experience as well as citizens with a background in video technology would be ideal candidates for this committee. Because the gathering of this information and/or knowledge of the intelligence gleamed is of a sensitive nature, background checks are suggested for candidates.

The identification of these cameras would include the following

• Are the cameras equipped for night vision?
• Are the cameras’ observations captured on a recording device?
• Type of device to be noted
• Length of time such a recording is archived to be noted

The identified surveillance cameras would be plotted on a City of Coral Springs map. This information would then be utilized to assist law enforcement in solving crimes and enhancing conviction rates. When a crime is committed, a detective could utilize this map to identify known cameras within a given radius of the crime. With a known or suspected time frame, surveillance recordings could be reviewed to provide leads, provide evidence or support existing evidence in the investigation.

The first phase of this proposal is fiscally negligible as the volunteer committee would provide the majority of the data. The liability to the city would be to oversee this project as well as having the data plotted on a map.

Secondary Phase:

A)        Parks

Phase two of the proposal is to identify strategic locations for city monitored surveillance cameras.

The accelerated placement of cameras in public parks is recommended as the beginning stage of this phase. The protection of our youngest and most vulnerable members of society deserves the highest priority. Currently, if a child is abducted or confronted in a park, the evidence most likely is minimal. With the placement of these cameras, extensive evidence is available including, but not limited to, a description of the suspect, a description of a vehicle and the direction of travel of a departing suspect vehicle.  It would also provide corroboration of a child’s accounting of activities which would enhance a child’s testimony during prosecution.

Additionally, vandalism of city property could be identified or prevented, thus offering a cost savings to the city.

It is recommended that signs be placed at the parks to advise visitors that the parks are under video surveillance in an effort to prevent crime and afford law enforcement to once again be proactive rather then reactive.

B)        Targeted high profile/ high volume areas

The Sample Road corridor from SR7 to the downtown area is a significant area of development in the near future. With the expected development of the casino, it is anticipated that Sample Road and the revitalized downtown area will create business/development opportunities. This corridor has many businesses, a high school, shopping centers and residential areas. A proactive approach to the strains which will be placed on public safety demonstrates the cities ability to be forward thinking and innovative. Businesses considering opening or relocating in Coral Springs look at safety as a factor in their decision-making process.

These additional cameras would be financed with grants. Numerous funding sources have been identified for this specified method of protection.

C)        Other

The program can be expanded as funding becomes available.

Final Stage:

The monitoring of these cameras is the key to its success. The proposal requires ample space and personnel to monitor and capture such activities.

The following scenario is offered to demonstrate the value of this proposal:

Currently, if an armed robbery is committed in Coral Springs, the call comes into the communications center and is dispatched to officers responding to the location. In many cases, the suspect has already departed prior to arrival of the officers and has, in fact, probably passed the arriving units.

Under the proposed program, the call would arrive in the communications center. The call would alert the video monitor to that location. The monitor would advise units as to observations of the scene including a description of the departing vehicle, direction of travel and number of occupants. The captured video would then become evidence, having recorded the suspect(s) and other evidence.

Conclusion

This proposal is a proactive approach to addressing crime in Coral Springs. The national trend is to embrace technology to support law enforcement officers in the future. Grants and additional funding sources are available which minimize the cost to the City of Coral Springs and may be a cost savings for the following reasons:

• Cameras are a known crime deterrent.

• Cameras provide images to solicit support from the public to identify criminals therefore reducing the amount of time and resources needed for this effort. This also identifies additional witnesses to support a successful prosecution.

• Video images of crimes and identification of the suspects overwhelmingly encourages defendants to accept plea deals more favorable to the prosecution. This reduces the high cost of prosecuting a case and minimizes court cost to the agency. If law enforcement officers are spending less time in court, they will spend more time on the street which in itself is a crime deterrent and reduces the cost of valuable city resources.