Surveillance Equipment: Galvan Park security cameras to deter crime

Hoping to deter crime and improve safety, the city plans to place security cameras in Galvan Park that can be monitored remotely from the police station.

If the city wins a grant to fund the program, the cameras will run 24 hours a day, and can be viewed at day and night, according to Morgan Hill police chief David Swing.

Communications staff at the police station will be able to view the footage live, and will even have the ability to pan and zoom the security spy cameras , Swing said. Footage will be recorded in a database that can be accessed by officers and police communications staff.

Police and city staff hope the added layer of security will allow dispatchers to provide pinpoint direction to patrol officers responding to potentially dangerous incidents in the area of Galvan Park, and to go back to review tapes for evidence collection or other purposes.

Galvan Park is located on Crest Avenue, which is designated as a "lower income Census tract," according to a city staff report. It's also the site of a high volume of police calls for service, including for violent gang-related incidents.

A murder took place on the street, just west of the park, in October 2009, when Juan Arellano was shot to death outside the Crest Avenue apartments.

"We hope to discourage criminal activity, and help people feel more secure because they know that there are cameras there," Swing said.

Police and city staff will continue to evaluate other places where similar cameras could be installed in the future, such as on light poles in the city's Community Park - which is near the site of the Nov. 4 drive-by shooting that took the life of 14-year-old Tara Romero.

The city will not attempt to use such security measures on private property, Swing said.

"We're not trying to see into private areas. The cameras will be monitored by city staff, (in areas) where there is no expectation of privacy," he said.

Staff do not yet know exactly how many cameras will be installed. The city will spend up to $78,000 on the program, funded by a community development block grant from Santa Clara County.

The city can only spend such funds on areas designated as "lower income" such as Crest Avenue, city manager Ed Tewes explained.The cameras will be installed next year, when the city is likely to receive the grant if it gains approval.