Paso police will have their eyes on you with new security camera program

Paso Robles soon will become the latest San Luis Obispo County city to install security cameras in parks and other public areas, an addition officials say could help curb crime.

City Council members recently voted unanimously to approve a pilot program to install two to four surveillance cameras in locations around the city.

Paso Robles police Lt. Tim Murphy, who presented the proposal to the council, said a $61,000 grant from the California Board of State and Community Corrections would pay for the camera system.

Murphy said the pilot program was the result of “seeing success in other agencies” that have used the cameras during investigations and as a form of crime prevention.

“Our focus will be on parks and other public areas,” Murphy said.

Pioneer Park, which Murphy said recently has been the site of “public nuisance” incidents, such as public drunkenness and vandalism, will be among the first areas targeted.

Once the pilot program is underway, Paso Robles will join Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach and San Luis Obispo on the list of local cities where police make use of public security cameras.

In a recent Tribune candidate Q&A, Grover Beach Mayor John Shoals, who’s running for re-election this year, touted cameras at Ramona Park and along Grand Avenue as tools the city has used to “take action on transient issues.”

In 2014, Arroyo Grande’s cameras infamously captured videos of then-City Manager Steve Adams and a subordinate stopping at City Hall late at night after getting drinks together downtown.

San Luis Obispo police Sgt. Brian Amoroso said nine cameras located around that city help deter crime and sometimes provide officers with an extra set of eyes.

A few of the cameras are moved around based on crime trends, in order to catch culprits or prevent criminal activity, Amoroso said. Others — including some installed on Higuera Street, around Mission San Luis Obispo and at the skate park in Santa Rosa Park — mostly remain in fixed locations.

“They’re not covert,” Amoroso said. “They’re overt.”

Amoroso said the cameras come in handy when police are investigating or responding to incidents that occurred in the vicinity of the cameras. San Luis Obispo police started out with about three cameras and built up their inventory over time, he said.

“We’re kind of adding on as money becomes available,” Amoroso said.

Murphy plans to use a similar strategy once the pilot program is complete, and council members at the meeting asked about the possibility of installing more cameras. Locations discussed included Centennial Park and the Salinas River Walk.

“This is just another way for the Police Department to ... make the community safer,” Murphy said.

This story was originally published October 22, 2016 at 1:14 PM with the headline "Paso police will have their eyes on you with new security camera program."