Quote:

I was equally impressed by the size of the crowd.

nice to see a huge turnout at the Mayor's press conference, he is really riding a wave of popularity

http://photos.nj.com/jersey-journal/2 ... nference_on_dec_1_13.html

thanks for sharing. one has to wonder why we just cant have a few cops walk the streets. i suppose this thing was free from the feds (I used to live in Santa Fe where the local PD got a tank from Homeland Security...), but I have seen all the cameras installed around Greenville, and wonder who is looking at those video feeds? We just got a bunch installed in Bayside Park, but guess what---needles and crack vials and graffiti still happening.

time and time again, cities have reduced crime and improved livability when cops walk and ride bikes on patrol. it seems simple to me. If JC has 600-700 cops, couldnt 10% of them go on foot patrols? I am sure that would be noticed.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a new Jersey City crime-fighting initiative!
By Sarah Nathan/ The Jersey Journal
on December 11, 2012 at 4:27 PM, updated December 11, 2012 at 4:29 PMJJ

Jersey City officials announced today that both tradition and technology will work side-by-side in two new crime-fighting initiatives that include new police officers and one tall new gadget.

At the parking lot of the Hub shopping plaza, Mayor Jerramiah Healy, Police Chief Tom Comey and other city officials spoke to residents and the press in front of a new portable surveillance tower known as the ?Eye in the Sky.?

The city hopes it will lessen crime in the area and elsewhere.

?It's like having four different police officers looking in four different directions at any given time,? said Comey.

The $100,000 tower, which the city obtained with federal funding, consists of a square room mounted on a scissor lift that can extend over three stories. Inside the room is a video screen on which an officer can watch video feed from three different cameras mounted on the outside.

The tower can be used for crowd control, emergency response, port security and overall crime deterrence, officials said today.

?We want people to understand that whether or not there's a cop in there, it's fully capable of determining what our needs are at a specific moment in time should we choose,? Comey said.

Comey noted that the surveillance tower has been specifically placed in the Hub shopping plaza for its first ?patrol,? but will be moved strategically around the city where it is needed.

?We wanted to start here to show the community we hear you, we hear you and we're coming,? he said.

In addition to the Eye in the Sky, the city will swear-in 22 new police officers on Friday, bringing the police force to 806 uniformed officers. Fifteen of the new officers were funded through a $1.85 million federal grant, while the others are paid for with city dollars.

?Public safety has always been mission no. 1 for us,? Healy said. ?We are aware of the importance of having a sufficient number of police officers out there.?

The city has been on the defensive about extra foot patrols for months, with residents appearing at numerous public meetings demanding more officers walking the streets. Healy and Comey have said in the past that the city has neither the money nor the number of officers for increased patrols.

Three members of the City Council ? Ward E Councilman and mayoral aspirant Steve Fulop, Councilman at large Rolando Lavarro and Ward F Councilwoman Diane Coleman ? all questioned the timing of Healy?s announcement.

?It was only six months ago that the administration told us that there weren?t enough police officers in the department to have foot patrols. What?s changed?? Lavarro said in a statement from Fulop?s campaign. ?The mayor is in the middle of a tough re-election campaign and he?s desperate to show he?s doing something about escalating crime in this city.?

Andrea Lewis, who often walks to the Hub shopping plaza to buy groceries for her father, said today she is excited about the new surveillance tower.

?It's been scary walking to the store,? said Lewis. ?With something like this around they can see if somebody tries to jump me or something.?