FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
CONTACT:
Sue Cobb or Sarah Moss, Mayor’s Office
720-865-9016
Sonny Jackson, Denver Police Department
720-913-6534
Sasha Harrell, Schenkein on behalf of LEA
303-672-4304
Denver Officials Announce Deployment of New Graffiti Surveillance System
Denver is first city nationwide to test latest technology from Law Enforcement Associates
(DENVER) Mayor John Hickenlooper, Graffiti Task Force Co-Chair Councilwoman Judy Montero (District 9) and Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman announced that the City and County of Denver will participate in a beta test of a newly developed graffiti surveillance system in an effort to mitigate the city’s graffiti problem. Law Enforcement Associates (LEA), the largest U.S. developer and manufacturer of undercover surveillance equipment, will provide the Denver Police Department with eight of its Graffiti Cam units free of charge, making Denver the first city nationwide to test LEA’s latest technology in graffiti abatement.
LEA will also provide free training to the Denver Police Department on product set up and installation, as well as free ongoing maintenance and 24-hour tech support. If the department is satisfied with the results at the end of the 30-day beta test, the units will be transferred to the Denver Police Department.
“Denver’s City government alone spends close to $1 million each year on graffiti remediation, and it’s among the top concerns of our citizens,” said Mayor Hickenlooper. “Our partnership with LEA is helping us leverage the latest technology to step up our anti-graffiti efforts. We hope to lead the way and share our success with other cities looking to address this costly public nuisance.”
LEA's Audio Intelligence Devices (AID) division has served more than 18,000 law enforcement customers in its nearly 40-year history. The Graffiti Cam is its newest surveillance solution that covertly and proactively notifies law enforcement of graffiti crimes in progress. When the video recording unit is activated via graffiti-related motion, it sends real-time text alerts of the event to designated mobile phones, as well as JPEG images of the event to designated e-mail addresses, enabling law enforcement to dispatch resources and catch taggers in the act. Video footage of the event can also be used as evidence against offenders.
“A major step in eliminating the graffiti problem is catching taggers ‘red handed’ rather than trying to track them down after the fact. The Graffiti Cam enables law enforcement to do so,” said Paul Feldman, LEA’s president and chief executive officer. “We’re confident the City and County of Denver will experience significant cost savings within 30-45 days through graffiti-related arrests and restitutions.”
The beta test supports the Graffiti Task Force’s goal of drastically reducing graffiti in Denver in the next three years through prevention, abatement and enforcement. The task force, created by Mayor Hickenlooper following the City’s 2006 Graffiti Summit, made recommendations to the Mayor and City Council to comprehensively address graffiti vandalism.
“The implementation of the Graffiti Cam is further proof that we will not back down on this issue,” said Montero. “Exploring the benefit and use of new technologies allows us to identify effective solutions for addressing Denver’s graffiti problem.”
“The benefit of the Graffiti Cam is really two-fold,” said Whitman. “We are alerted to crimes as they’re happening so we can make arrests on the spot, but we also have video footage to help us identify suspects after the crime has taken place. The Graffiti Cam will also help us reduce related crimes such as vandalism, theft and gang activity.”
About the City and County of Denver Graffiti Task Force
In order to address the growing graffiti problem in Denver, Mayor Hickenlooper convened a citywide summit on graffiti in October of 2006. More than 200 people attended the summit, and dozens committed their involvement in the ensuing Graffiti Task Force. Members made comprehensive recommendations, based on a three-pronged approach to graffiti elimination: prevention, abatement and enforcement.
About Law Enforcement Associates
For more information, please contact LEA at 800.354.9669 or www.leacorp.com.
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