Surveillance cameras up and running on Promenade
DOWNTOWN — Santa Monica authorities would be quite content to watch another peaceful holiday season pass them by.
Security cameras have been installed along the Third Street Promenade as part of a pilot program launched by City Hall after possible terrorists were spotted scoping out the pier this summer.
Two video cameras were installed within the last week at the corner of the Third Street Promenade and Santa Monica Boulevard by Pasadena-based Hamilton Pacific, one of two firms that may be granted a city-wide contract.
The estimated $2 million in security upgrades were approved after Santa Monica Police informed the public in August that a citizen on July 3 spotted three men, all of whom were of Middle Eastern decent, suspiciously videotaping specific areas of the pier, including access roads and the SMPD’s police substation.
Based on intelligence from other agencies, the same men were seen this summer videotap-ing bridges and piers along the Southern California coast. Another agency confirmed that the same individuals were seen videotaping at the 2003 Academy Awards.
That prompted officials to make preemptive changes to the city’s security systems to further protect the public in the event a terrorist attack does hit Santa Monica.
SMPD has added four overtime police officers and reconfig-ured the observation posts at the pier. Security has been increased underneath the pier and surrounding the structure’s pilings.
Already underway are plans to train and hire additional K-9 officers with bomb-sniffing dogs. The dogs themselves cost $5,000 a piece and the specially-trained officers command about $100,000 a year in salary.
There also is increased security on the Third Street Promenade, including the installation of security cameras, which will be placed throughout the downtown area and the pier once a company has been signed on. Signs will be posted throughout the Bayside District indicating that there are cameras rolling. The cost of the surveillance system is estimated at $1.1 million.
The cameras at Santa Monica Boulevard and the Promenade will remain there for two weeks as part of the trial period, said Charlie Boone, a sales representative for Hamilton Pacific.
“There is no desire to spy on people, but to spot illegal or erratic behavior,” he said. “They are intended to stop something before it becomes a problem.”
Police personnel will monitor the cameras in real time from a centralized location. The footage will be stored in digital format on hard drives for up to six months. The surveillance system has its advantages beyond scoping for terrorist activity, and will allow police to detect crimes in progress or look back at the tape.
Police have asked that anyone who sees people suspiciously videotaping or photographing — that which doesn’t correspond to typical tourist footage — to write down license plate numbers, take photographs of the individuals and take in as much detail as possible. Then, call police.
The citizen who spotted the men on the pier this summer thought their behavior odd because they weren’t videotaping one another, which is typical of tourists. Rather, the men were seen acting as “lookouts” while another man videotaped. So the citizen photographed the individuals from a distance and held onto the images. Then, when the terrorist attacks happened in London on July 7, the citizen finally contacted the SMPD on July 22.
It wasn’t until July 26 that the citizen handed over the photos of the men to the SMPD. The following day, the SMPD shared the photos with state and federal agencies.
When the SMPD distributed a flyer to state and federal authorities about the suspicious activity, two agencies informed Santa Monica police that they had been in contact with the individuals in recent months. Those agencies intercepted video footage from the individuals which contained images from Universal City Walk and the Santa Monica Pier.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 25, 2005. Read the original PDF.