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LANCASTER, Calif. (KTLA) -- The Lancaster City Council approved a measure Tuesday to allow authorities to perform aerial surveillance to help fight crime in the city.
Mayor R. Rex Parris says the plan will involve a $1.3-million, piloted Cessna 172 fixed-wing aircraft affixed with optical equipment that would circle the High Desert city at altitudes of 1,000 to 3,000 feet some 10 hours a day.
The Council approved the measure unanimously. It will begin April 1.
The technology, developed by Lancaster-based Spiral Technology Inc., would record video footage that would be transmitted to the Los Angeles County SheriffÂ’s Department.small airplane that could capture images from as far as five miles away and instantly relay footage to deputies on the ground.
Parris has tested the "eye in the sky" system and says he's very excited about Lancaster possibly becoming the first in the nation to use it for general public safety.
“We have worked closely with the sheriff’s department over the past four years to ensure we do everything to stomp out crime,” Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said in a statement.
“Now, the sheriff’s department will have an aerial advantage to add to their arsenal.”
The surveillance technology is currently used by the military, NASA and a limited number of other federal agencies.
But, there are concerns over whether the system would violate the privacy rights of residents.
For instance, if someone wants to sunbathe in the nude on their own property, which is legal, do they have to worry about being captured on camera?
Great Britain has more than four million public cameras, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, and in London the average person is captured on video camera 300 times a day.
Critics say the cameras have not shown a significant effect on stopping crime.
The city of Lancaster has some 120 cameras along streets and sidewalks.
Some residents want the installation of new cameras to stop until more laws can be put in place to govern the surveillance.
The city’s initial plans to launch a so-called “eye-in-the-sky” aerial surveillance system two years ago were shelved after privacy concerns were raised by civil liberty advocates and some residents.
Critics argued that the system bordered on government-sanctioned snooping.
Others challenged spending money on a high-tech plane when helicopters could be used.
Parris and other supporters countered privacy concerns by arguing that the proposed systems would deliver images via an encrypted communications link to equipment at the Lancaster sheriffÂ’s station, and that only police would have access to the video footage.
The city plans to pay for the program using existing funds in the fiscal-year budget, city officials said.
The charge for surveillance would run around $300 an hour, or about $90,000 a month. The aircraft would be fueled and maintained at a local Lancaster airfield.
If approved, the program would start next spring, officials said.
Mayor R. Rex Parris says the plan will involve a $1.3-million, piloted Cessna 172 fixed-wing aircraft affixed with optical equipment that would circle the High Desert city at altitudes of 1,000 to 3,000 feet some 10 hours a day.
The Council approved the measure unanimously. It will begin April 1.
The technology, developed by Lancaster-based Spiral Technology Inc., would record video footage that would be transmitted to the Los Angeles County SheriffÂ’s Department.small airplane that could capture images from as far as five miles away and instantly relay footage to deputies on the ground.
Parris has tested the "eye in the sky" system and says he's very excited about Lancaster possibly becoming the first in the nation to use it for general public safety.
“We have worked closely with the sheriff’s department over the past four years to ensure we do everything to stomp out crime,” Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said in a statement.
“Now, the sheriff’s department will have an aerial advantage to add to their arsenal.”
The surveillance technology is currently used by the military, NASA and a limited number of other federal agencies.
But, there are concerns over whether the system would violate the privacy rights of residents.
For instance, if someone wants to sunbathe in the nude on their own property, which is legal, do they have to worry about being captured on camera?
Great Britain has more than four million public cameras, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, and in London the average person is captured on video camera 300 times a day.
Critics say the cameras have not shown a significant effect on stopping crime.
The city of Lancaster has some 120 cameras along streets and sidewalks.
Some residents want the installation of new cameras to stop until more laws can be put in place to govern the surveillance.
The city’s initial plans to launch a so-called “eye-in-the-sky” aerial surveillance system two years ago were shelved after privacy concerns were raised by civil liberty advocates and some residents.
Critics argued that the system bordered on government-sanctioned snooping.
Others challenged spending money on a high-tech plane when helicopters could be used.
Parris and other supporters countered privacy concerns by arguing that the proposed systems would deliver images via an encrypted communications link to equipment at the Lancaster sheriffÂ’s station, and that only police would have access to the video footage.
The city plans to pay for the program using existing funds in the fiscal-year budget, city officials said.
The charge for surveillance would run around $300 an hour, or about $90,000 a month. The aircraft would be fueled and maintained at a local Lancaster airfield.
If approved, the program would start next spring, officials said.
