5 surveillance cams to go downtown this fall

The Chronicle reports this monring that five surveillance cameras will be installed on and near Main Street this fall — a move that could be the beginning of a citywide camera program, if HPD has its way. The initial five cameras, which will go online in October, will be paid for by the Houston Downtown Management District, a group that uses downtown tax money for downtown development, so they don't need the City Council's OK.

The idea of surveillance cameras has been batted around for a while, especially since HPD started hurting from an officer shortage. Police Chief Harold Hurtt's plan is to install cameras at crime hotspots including apartment complexes, malls and areas where prostitutes and drug dealers are known to be active, and he's even suggested that homeowners who call the police often could install cameras, too. The department hopes to secure federal funding for such a system, but it would require City Council approval — that, we imagine, is when the real concerns over privacy will come out (Hurtt's take on that: "If you're not doing anything wrong, why should you worry about it?").

It's not clear where the first five downtown cameras will be or exactly how they'll work; the Chronicle simply reports that "the Houston Police Department will work with the Management District to use the cameras in law enforcement."