New CTA Security Cameras At Train Stations Installed Weeks Ahead Of Schedule (VIDEO)

Some 1,500 new security cameras have been installed at Chicago Transit Authority train stations throughout the city, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy and CTA President Forrest Claypool are expected to announce Monday.

The project, first announced in June, has been completed six weeks ahead of schedule. The cameras have been lauded by Emanuel as successful in "assisting police officers solve crimes and ensure the safety of Chicagoans at L stops across the city."

As ABC Chicago reports, the installation of the 1,500 new cameras doubles the number previously in operation at the city's 143 stations. Claypool told ABC that the cameras are high-definition and are able to shoot footage from multiple angles, so he is also confident they will contribute to a decrease in crime at CTA stations.

The cameras are part of a plan to beef up security through cameras and an increased police presence alike. In June, Claypool said "wolfpack" teams of between four and six officers will ride the trains, in addition to plainclothes, undercover officers stopping by the stations.

The cameras were funded as part of a $16 million U.S. Department of Homeland Security project.

"It should send a message to would-be criminals that we’ll be watching, and using every tool at our disposal to assist the police," Claypool said of the plan in June.

The agency is also in the process of phasing in their new train cars, which come equipped with on-board security cameras. The Pink Line will receive the new cars first, followed by the Green and Red Lines and all the others to follow, WGN reports.

The push for a CTA crime crackdown came amid a bevy of publicity surrounding robberies and other crimes at train stations earlier this year, including the iPhone robbery that led to the death of a 68-year-old Sally Katona-King, who was pushed down the stairs at the Fullerton Red Line stop.

Comments

[dbrett480]

06:40 PM on 11/26/2011

Good idea. Cameras combined with an aggressive police presence will do tons of damage to the criminals that prey on public transit customers.

[brookmo]

03:54 PM on 11/22/2011

A camera will not protect you. At best it will allow for a possible arrest after you and raped and or dead. I will not ride public transportation. I remember when there were actual conductors on trains and ticket agents. It was a lot safer then but now. I drive everywhere and will continue to do so. Cameras mean nothing!

[dbrett480]

06:40 PM on 11/26/2011

They are an effective deterrent though.

[Liz Kelliher-Paz]

01:16 PM on 11/21/2011

The security cameras do little to act as a deterrent for criminals. Look at the shotgun robberies off Loyola. Loyola has cameras and the robber still managed to hit, what, six people?

[BushBites]

01:37 PM on 11/21/2011

Um....the shotgun robber was caught because of the cameras.

"A Chicago man has been charged with using a sawed-off shotgun to rob people in two CTA Red Line stations on Saturday after police identified him using surveillance video and tracked him down on a northwest suburb, officials said today."

Geeze.....

[Liz Kelliher-Paz]

01:57 PM on 11/21/2011

He was caught some time after. It didn't deter the actual crime itself.

[BushBites]

01:46 PM on 11/21/2011

And if you're going to say "still not a deterrent," I'll add a few things.

1. He was caught due to the cameras and will be prosecuted. That certainly will deter him whenever he gets out.

2. Anybody planning the same trick will likely be deterred as well, as news of the arrest was learned by everybody but, apparently, you.

3. The cameras were in the process of being installed on the Red Line at the time so he probably didn't even know about them -- well, he obviously didn't know about them, unless he's totally stupid.

[Liz Kelliher-Paz]

01:59 PM on 11/21/2011

The problem is that people will still be robbed. The cameras are useful for later apprehending people IF they can find them. It doesn't stop the crime itself. Therefore safety isn't increased merely by the camera's presence. The cops being stationed outside obviously does, but the cameras do little in terms of immediate help.

[Liz Kelliher-Paz]

02:03 PM on 11/21/2011

Also, resorting to personal insults about my awareness of the situation doesn't further your argument, fyi.

[BlindChance]

12:17 PM on 11/21/2011

About time.