Bluffton police unveil Old Town security cameras
If you're strolling through Old Town Bluffton and feel like you're being watched, chances are you're not just paranoid.
The town and police department unveiled a network of 22 new security cameras Tuesday.
The cameras, which cost nearly $100,000, have been installed on 10-foot poles around May River Road and Calhoun Street to help police monitor public spaces in the town's historic district.
"We want (the cameras) to be a piece of our community safety program," Bluffton Police Chief Joey Reynolds said Tuesday.
He said the cameras will serve three main purposes:
- Deterring crime: If people know (the cameras) are out there, maybe they'll be more likely to behave themselves," Reynolds said.
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About half of the 22 cameras have been installed already.
"Everyday we are bring more of them online, so in the next week or so hopefully they will all be up and running," Reynolds said.
When asked about privacy concerns raised by the prospect of monitoring people in public, Reynolds said the intent of the camera system is not to be invasive.
"We're not sitting and constantly monitoring cameras. I don't want people to think we are like Big Brother," he said. "People are sometimes worried about the privacy issue, but we aren't looking into people's windows or residences. We can't look anywhere with these cameras that you can't see from walking down the road."
The cameras were installed by the Charlotte-based company WildFire Camera Networks.
Kevin Bourgoin, an engineer with the company, said the high-definition cameras can tilt, pan and zoom.
They can also be programmed slowly scan in a circle "to cover a 360 degree area," he said.
Police officers can watch video streams "on their laptops in their police cars or on their phones so they can view them from anywhere," Bourgoin said.
Reynolds said as of now the camera network is not accessible to the public or media.
"But I think down the road, we probably will look at that," he said.
See camera map below video
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This story was originally published August 25, 2015 at 6:28 PM with the headline "Bluffton police unveil Old Town security cameras."