Boosting Surveillance Capabilities and Other Crime Deterrence Efforts

In 2018, forty additional cameras in ten locations will be installed throughout Jersey City, for a total of nearly 200 CCTV cameras citywide

JERSEY CITY –
Mayor Steven M. Fulop and Public Safety Director James Shea announce today Jersey City’s new CCTV camera system is expanding with the instillation of 40 additional cameras in high crime areas.  Phase II of the CCTV project will be completed in the new year, which includes extending fiber lines in accordance with plans to expand the system even further.

“We’ve been working to modernize the antiquated and unreliable CCTV system we inherited with an updated, state-of-the-art system strategically mapped out with multiple cameras covering our problem areas,” said Mayor Fulop.  “The cameras will enable surveillance in real-time and for review, considerably enhancing our efforts to increase public safety citywide.”

When Mayor Fulop took office in 2013, there were 50 functioning cameras throughout Jersey City.  Upon the completion of Phase I, there are now 107 new cameras.  With Phase II moving forward
in the new year, 40 additional cameras are currently being installed and implemented for a total of 197 cameras citywide.  Each of the new 147 cameras are operating at 5-times more clarity compared to the city’s former 1-megapixel technology.

Phase II includes 10 new locations totaling 40 cameras:

1.
Dwight and Ocean Avenues (4 HD Fixed Cameras)

2.
Winfield and Ocean Avenues (4 HD Fixed Cameras)

3.
Bartholdi and Ocean Avenues (4 HD Fixed Cameras)

4.
Fulton and Ocean Avenues (4 HD Fixed Cameras)

5.
Lexington and Bergen Avenues (4 HD Fixed Cameras)

6.
Bayview and Garfield Avenues (4 HD Fixed Cameras)

7.
Monticello and Brinkerhoff Avenues (4 HD Fixed Cameras)

8.
Monticello and Belmont Avenues (4 HD Fixed Cameras)

9.
Monticello and Jewitt Avenues (4 HD Fixed Cameras)

10.
Monticello and Gardner Avenues (4 HD Fixed Cameras)

Phase I and Phase II total approximately $850,000 and are a combination of Department of Homeland Security Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) funds and capital
budget funds.  The cameras serve not only to assist the police, but can also be used for evacuation and emergency scenarios.

Phase II also includes laying down fiber lines as well as extending them from existing lines to the new and future locations.

“These new cameras use the latest technology, strengthening our other crime reduction efforts as we continue to see downward trends in violent and nonviolent crimes,” said Mayor Fulop.  “Strategically placing the cameras in our problem areas is multifunctional, serving not only as a crime deterrent, but the surveillance footage can also serve as a crucial piece of evidence in court.”

“We realized we were spending an exorbitant amount of money constantly repairing the old cameras, and therefore decided it would be much more effective to start from scratch,” said
Director Shea.  “The previous system used one user controlled, pan-tilt-zoom camera per location, and was oftentimes pointing in the wrong direction at the time of an incident being investigated.  We moved to a system with four stationary cameras at each location, providing more coverage at each location.”

This first part of Phase II brings the city to the halfway mark of the administration’s overall goal of over 50 locations citywide.

Phase I of the CCTV project includes 6 parks and 13 street locations.  The prior system, which was comprised of 150 cameras, was installed
in phases between eight and fifteen years ago using Urban Enterprise Zone funds, which meant they were placed in business districts throughout the city – not the most effective locations. The locations for the new cameras are based on crime data identifying
areas of historically higher crime, our municipal parks and using feedback from the community. Additionally, the old cameras hadn’t been serviced in several years once the state withdrew UEZ revenue from municipalities, which meant at times a third or more
were out of service.