Eight cameras were installed at
seven locations throughout Somerville last August as a part of a $4.6
million Homeland Security grant to nine localities in Massachusetts.
Alderman At-Large Bill White, who chaired the hearing, said the board
had not been consulted before the cameras were put in place.

"Why
wasn't this public hearing conducted prior to the installation?" Ward 4
Alderman Walter Pero asked. "I think the board has been disrespected in
this process by not being involved at the front end. It's going to be a
lot harder to put the genie back in the bottle now that the cameras
have been installed."

Some communities have reacted with
hesitation to the federal funding. The Cambridge City Council has
refused to allow eight cameras installed there to be turned on, while
the Brookline Selectmen approved a one-year test period in January.

Police
Chief Anthony Holloway and Fire Chief Kevin Kelleher were on hand to
explain how the city has used the cameras, citing potential evacuation
situations and crime prevention as the primary benefits. Neither had an
estimate on how much maintaining the system would cost.

"I
couldn't put a price tag on it," Holloway said, "but if it help saves
one life, helps identify one person, then it pays for itself."

Thirteen
people spoke against the cameras, including State Rep. Denise Provost
and American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts staff attorney
Sarah Wunsch.

"This is not the kind of camera police departments
have used for a number of years," Wunsch said, noting the chief of
police in Brookline outlined the surveillance camera program to the
Selectmen prior to installing the cameras for the trial period.

"With all respect to the chief, I know people feel like these cameras must deter crime, but they don't," Wunsch added.

Holloway
said the cameras in Somerville are 75 feet above ground and transmit
wireless color video images to Somerville Police Headquarters 24 hours
a day. Camera recordings are kept for 14 days and erased on the 15th.

At
the meeting, Assistant City Solicitor David Shapiro said the recordings
are public record. Tapes will be available from the Police Department
for a fee.

Holloway added that a password is required to zoom
in on people, which nine officers have. If a crime is occurring, those
without access are allowed to zoom in if an authorized person can't get
there in time.

So far, according to Holloway, the zoom-in
feature has been used once, when officers spotted vandals on the
community bike path. The suspects made an escape before any
higher-resolution images could be taken.

Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah
Gewirtz, who initiated the inquiry into the cameras' installation,
challenged Holloway on his assertion that the cameras were not part of
a regional network. Localities will be allowed to request feeds of the
cameras but will not be able to take control.

"We could let
(other localities) look at the camera," Holloway said, " but we
wouldn't let them record anything because they wouldn't have access to
that."

As for the locations of the cameras, Holloway said they
would remain secret until receiving approval from Harvard University,
which has two cameras posted on a Somerville property. A list of
locations was distributed to Aldermen. The Davis Square LiveJournal
community has posted locations and photos of several cameras.