YORBA LINDA : Surveillance Plan Fails to Get Support
A proposal by Councilman Gene Wisner to install video surveillance cameras at key intersections throughout the city failed to gain support from the rest of the council this week.
Wisner had asked City Manager Arthur C. Simonian to prepare a report on the feasibility of installing the cameras as a security measure and an additional tool for police investigating car thefts and other crimes. The cameras would record vehicle types and colors and license numbers of all cars passing through the intersection. After a crime is reported, police could then review the tapes and track the vehicles.
The cameras could range in cost from $10,000 to $100,000 per intersection, according to the report.
Wisner suggested targeting three locations on the east side of the city, where he said auto theft and burglary was a growing problem. By placing cameras at La Palma Avenue and Gypsum Canyon Road, Yorba Linda Boulevard and La Palma Avenue and the end of Esperanza Road, Wisner said the entrances and exits to a community of 4,000 homes would be covered.
“For an investment of $30,000, we can possibly cut crime in that area by up to 50%,” Wisner said.
But Councilman Henry W. Wedaa said the cameras were an invasion of privacy.
“I’m sympathetic about car theft, but we don’t need Big Brother watching our intersections,” Wedaa said.
Because no other council member indicated support for Wisner’s proposal, the item was dropped without a vote.
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