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The Latest Crime Tool: Talking Surveillance Cameras

BALTIMORE (AP) - The city's newest breed of surveillance camera will do more than keep an eye on vandals, litterbugs and other miscreants.

The cameras will also give the crooks a talking-to.

Baltimore's Board of Estimates has approved five talking cameras - armed with motion detectors, a bright flash and a recorded warning - as part of an effort to curb quality-of-life crimes, especially illegal dumping.

When the solar-powered cameras detect motion, they will issue a scolding: "Stop. This is a restricted area. It is illegal to dump trash or spray graffiti here. We have just taken your photograph. We will use this photograph to prosecute you. Leave the area now."

While that is the default message, the city could choose to record a collective admonishment from nearby residents or even a personal threat by Mayor Martin O'Malley.

The cameras cost $5,000 apiece and will be added to an already expansive network of surveillance equipment in Baltimore. City officials would not say where, specifically, the cameras would be placed.

But the idea is to surprise litterers with a booming voice, most likely coming from a light pole. The camera will also snap a still photograph and save it to a storage card, which police could use to identify a suspect.

"It's quite startling," said Ken Anderson, president of California-based Q-Star Technology, which developed the camera. "It's generally going off in the middle of the night, (and) people generally aren't expecting it."

About 150 cities use the cameras to control graffiti, loitering and illegal dumping, Anderson said. Cincinnati has installed 20 cameras, mostly in residential areas and city parks.

Other cities, including Chicago and Philadelphia, have ramped up use of video surveillance as an investigative tool. But privacy advocates say the cities should hire more police officers instead.

"It seems to be an atmosphere of, 'We will watch you no matter what, even if you're innocent,'" said Melissa Ngo, staff counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington.

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