Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Here come the cameras, O.B.

Will police have available budget to monitor video in real-time?

Rick Callejon
Rick Callejon

A group of Ocean Beach residents, organized under the banner Citizens Against Privacy Abuse, gathered at the foot of Newport Avenue on Saturday afternoon (January 16) to protest the planned installation of ten surveillance cameras along the beach.

Among other concerns, they argue that the community was not given an opportunity to discuss the cameras' placement before the city approved the installation, slated to occur sometime this month.

"We're trying to raise community awareness," says O.B. local Rick Callejon. "The police made the announcement that these cameras are coming without reaching out first for any community input. We think that's a big deal, and a large part of what we're doing is educational — lots of people don't even know that the cameras are coming, and we want to delay them or stop them."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Police and representatives for city councilmember Lorie Zapf, who earmarked a significant portion of the $61,000 initial cost of installing the cameras, did present their plans to the O.B. Planning Board and OB Mainstreet Association, a local merchants' group. They declined, however, to participate in a subsequent forum organized by camera opponents.

Callejon says the cameras are "a multifaceted issue — you've got privacy concerns, plus we're of the belief that the only effective cameras are those that are actively monitored....

"We have no data studying the efficacy of these cameras where they've been used elsewhere; there's no data from the police or Zapf's office actually coming from the beach," Callejon continues. "All of their statistics deal with residential crime — and we're concerned that if there is crime happening on the beach, these cameras will drive it into the nearby residential neighborhoods….

"Our crime rates aren't high right now, so far as a historical view is concerned, and we believe there are better uses for our money — items pinpointed by the O.B. Town Council and the O.B. Planning Board are that we need money for our library, we need money for our lifeguard station. And if the problem here is homelessness, we need money for outreach — these people need counseling and services rather than more reasons to be arrested time and time again."

Callejon says his group is in favor of more police activity but believes the cameras wouldn’t be money well spent; he asserts there is no budget for police staff to monitor the video feeds in real-time or maintain the equipment once it goes in.

"I've been out here for several hours and I haven't seen one police officer on foot today," he says. "We welcome community policing, we welcome interaction between the police and the residents here in Ocean Beach. But cameras aren't the answer to creating that contact. Please, get out of the cars and deal with the people that are here on your beats."

Other group members busied themselves collecting signatures on a petition that asks that the camera installation be put to a halt. "A couple hundred" signatures were gathered from local residents and tourists passing by on January 16.

Although the signatures will be presented to Zapf's office, there's no indication that any changes to the installation plans are imminent. Local businesses and a significant population in O.B. have voiced their support for the cameras.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob
Rick Callejon
Rick Callejon

A group of Ocean Beach residents, organized under the banner Citizens Against Privacy Abuse, gathered at the foot of Newport Avenue on Saturday afternoon (January 16) to protest the planned installation of ten surveillance cameras along the beach.

Among other concerns, they argue that the community was not given an opportunity to discuss the cameras' placement before the city approved the installation, slated to occur sometime this month.

"We're trying to raise community awareness," says O.B. local Rick Callejon. "The police made the announcement that these cameras are coming without reaching out first for any community input. We think that's a big deal, and a large part of what we're doing is educational — lots of people don't even know that the cameras are coming, and we want to delay them or stop them."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Police and representatives for city councilmember Lorie Zapf, who earmarked a significant portion of the $61,000 initial cost of installing the cameras, did present their plans to the O.B. Planning Board and OB Mainstreet Association, a local merchants' group. They declined, however, to participate in a subsequent forum organized by camera opponents.

Callejon says the cameras are "a multifaceted issue — you've got privacy concerns, plus we're of the belief that the only effective cameras are those that are actively monitored....

"We have no data studying the efficacy of these cameras where they've been used elsewhere; there's no data from the police or Zapf's office actually coming from the beach," Callejon continues. "All of their statistics deal with residential crime — and we're concerned that if there is crime happening on the beach, these cameras will drive it into the nearby residential neighborhoods….

"Our crime rates aren't high right now, so far as a historical view is concerned, and we believe there are better uses for our money — items pinpointed by the O.B. Town Council and the O.B. Planning Board are that we need money for our library, we need money for our lifeguard station. And if the problem here is homelessness, we need money for outreach — these people need counseling and services rather than more reasons to be arrested time and time again."

Callejon says his group is in favor of more police activity but believes the cameras wouldn’t be money well spent; he asserts there is no budget for police staff to monitor the video feeds in real-time or maintain the equipment once it goes in.

"I've been out here for several hours and I haven't seen one police officer on foot today," he says. "We welcome community policing, we welcome interaction between the police and the residents here in Ocean Beach. But cameras aren't the answer to creating that contact. Please, get out of the cars and deal with the people that are here on your beats."

Other group members busied themselves collecting signatures on a petition that asks that the camera installation be put to a halt. "A couple hundred" signatures were gathered from local residents and tourists passing by on January 16.

Although the signatures will be presented to Zapf's office, there's no indication that any changes to the installation plans are imminent. Local businesses and a significant population in O.B. have voiced their support for the cameras.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Summit Fellowship wants to be a home of belonging

Unitarian Universalism allows you to be exactly who you are in the moment
Next Article

Reader Music Issue short takes

Obervatory's mosh pit, frenetic Rafael Payare, Lemonhead chaos, bleedforthescene, Coronado Tasting Room
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.