public access to street cams (Chicago: fit in, apartment, insurance)

[60phoenix]

Chicago spent money on police cameras to fight crime in certain neighborhoods. A camera was put at the beginning of my block at 66th and Emerald. On the morning of Aug. 22 my son's car was stolen from in front of our house no more than 25 feet from the police camera. His was the second car to be taken from the block in a matter of weeks. When making the report he informed the officer about the camera and stated that the crime must have been caught on tape. The officer told him he would put it in the report. Why do we have this high tech, costly equipment if it is not being utilized in a timely manner? Perhaps this is why thieves feel comfortable enough to steal cars right in front of the camera. I was happy when the camera was put up but its purpose in either catching perpetrators or deterring them seems to be negligible. Is there any way to access the camera archives online? Perhaps citizens can help reviewing tapes if there is a backlog? My son probably wont get his car back in the same shape as it was but right and wrong should fit in this equation somewhere.


If we can access google cameras at street level why not access police cameras?

[Drover]

66th and Emerald... wow. I don't know how you carry on down there. I guess someone has to... Anyway, the only way I see you getting access to the contents of that tape is to get a lawyer and compel access via a subpoena. And by then, who knows, the contents may have been erased. Or, the camera may have been pointing in a different direction entirely. Have you contacted the officer assigned to the case for a progress report? It sounds like they're not taking the case very seriously, which sucks. But hey, that's the CPD for ya.

[BRU67]

Looking at my neighborhood map, 66th and Emerald is the exact dead center of Englewood. Either this is a creative troll or this poor dude's realtor really steered him wrong!

If this isn't a troll, count your blessings that the cops even showed up at all. They tend to take more of a "hands off" approach in that area. I think you're pretty much SOL on getting the tapes. Unless you file a lawsuit, you can't issue a subpoena (and who would you sue since you don't know who did it?). And even if you did, the CPD would likely assert the law enforcement or investigative privilege. And records relating to law enforcement are exempt from the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Advice -- Save the money on the lawyer and use the insurance proceeds to get an apartment in another part of the City.

[Manigault]

Let's not be too elitist. Someone has to live at 66th & Emerald if there is housing stock there. It might be attractive to a person who feels he or she can handle the crime rate and the local hazards compared to the relative inexpensiveness of the housing stock. Maybe that area is close to a person's job, his kids' schools, relatives or a house of worship. Maybe that person inherited a house that his parents bought in the sixties. I am acquainted with people who live in Englewood but, sure, the poster could be a troll.

But the previous post had it right. You can't subpoena camera results without having a law suit in progress. A FOIA request is your best bet. I don't know what seeing the camera results will get you, though. And the police don't constantly monitor the cameras, they just view them when a crime has been committed in the area.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Manigault

Let's not be too elitist. Someone has to live at 66th & Emerald if there is housing stock there.

That's a huge IF in that area. I think most of it is burned down or boarded up.

[Manigault]

Check out the area on google's satellite pics. I bet there's some occupied housing still standing.