License-plate scanners have begun to be installed at the 43 entrances and exits in the Village of East Hills. According to Newsday, the 81 security cameras were secured by a $250,000 grants facilitated by Assemblyman Charles Lavine and $200,000 from the Village.
East Hills adding dozens of license-plate readers at each of its village entry, exit points
A worker installs one of the 81 cameras that will scan license plates at the 43 entrances and exits in the village of East Hills. The system is expected to be activated in late fall. Credit: Charles Eckert
By Dandan Zou [email protected]
Updated August 20, 2020 11:02 AM
East Hills is installing security cameras to read license plates at village boundaries to deter crime and help aid police investigations, village officials announced Monday.
The rollout of the $450,000 system comes five years after “a rash of burglaries” pushed officials to reconvene a dormant security commission to research measures to make the community safer, Mayor Michael Koblenz said Tuesday.
In December 2015, someone entered a house on Wildwood Lane and set off an alarm. A week later, a woman shopping in Wheatley Plaza was followed home and mugged in her driveway. Before that, officials said there were three burglaries for the year.
“We wanted more security for our people,” Koblenz said. “Short of having a police department, which we couldn’t afford, this is the next best thing.”
Nassau County police provide law enforcement for East Hills. The village also maintains its own safety personnel with almost two dozen public safety officers.
Village officials anticipated that 81 cameras at 43 entrances and exits of the 2.27-square-mile village will be activated by late fall.
The system will be paid for by a $250,000 state grant secured through Assemb. Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove). The remaining $200,000 will be covered by the village, which officials said has not had a tax increase in the past 10 years. Zuckerman said the village will also pay the $25,000 annual fee to maintain the system.
Officials dismissed privacy and surveillance concerns by stressing that camera footage will only be reviewed if a crime is being investigated. Otherwise, it will be stored electronically for 60 days before being overwritten by new footage.
“It’s only used in the event, God forbid, that we had another rash of burglaries in the village,” Koblenz said, adding that the cameras will not be used to pull drivers over or issue speeding tickets. “The tape will be turned over to the police, and they will have the plates … to use as a lead.”
East Hills, a North Shore community with 7,200 residents, is the latest village to use the license plate-reading technology, following in the footsteps of Freeport, Hempstead, Glen Cove, Kings Point, Long Beach and Lynbrook.
Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy touted the license-plate scanners last year as an effective tool that helped the village notch a 54% drop in crime.
Deputy Mayor Manny Zuckerman said the system East Hills is setting up differs from the ones in municipalities that have their own police departments. The village’s public safety officers have access to four patrol vehicles, but they don’t have policing power, he said.
“They had a lot more emphasis on license-plate readers where they would immediately be able to check to see if it was somebody coming through with a stolen car or unregistered vehicle,” Zuckerman said. “It’s not the same system [that] we are looking at because we don’t have these police powers.”
It’s also not the intent, Zuckerman said, as the village is looking to add an additional layer of protection for the community, which has not seen any serious crime other than a few thefts a year since 2015.
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