Cameras Will Be Coming To Winder Village Soon

Seven new police surveillance cameras are coming to Bristol Township’s Winder Village section – and officials are hopeful they will go up soon.

Township Manager Bill McCauley announced Thursday night the system and seven cameras will be purchased soon for under $75,000.

McCauley said he hopes to have the cameras installed in the next few months. First, some tree work needs to be done to clear room for the cameras. Another potential delay comes from the fact the camera manufacturer just received a large order from another agency.

The system will be used to help the police department monitor crime and other incidents in the neighborhood. The cameras are one way, according to officials, the township can help add extra eyes to the neighborhood.

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The new camera system, much like a current system in the Bloomsdale-Fleetwing section, will feed back to police station on Bath Road. Acting Chief Lt. John Godzieba said no one will be monitoring it around the clock but all the cameras record and officials will check in on them.

What makes the new camera system different from the federal-funded system used in Bloomsdale-Fleetwing, is the new system will be accessible via police mobile devices. The township operates several newer cameras in the Croydon and Indian Creek section that can be viewed via patrol car computers. Godzieba told LevittownNow.com the new system is IP-based and runs on the Verizon network.

Residents from Winder Village began attending council meetings and asking for increased police patrol and even cameras in summer after an unsolved triple shooting left two men dead.

In October 2012, retired Chief of Police James McAndrews said crime in the Bloomsdale-Fleetwing neighborhood has fallen by more than 50 percent since the cameras were installed. The system features surveillance cameras every few yards on the neighborhood’s streets and even features automatic license plate readers (ALPR.) The ALPRs capture an image of the license plate of every vehicle that enters the neighborhood and runs it against databases of expired, stolen or wanted vehicles.

In the 1990s, cities like Philadelphia, New York and Chicago began installing the police surveillance cameras in high-crime sections. Philadelphia officials cited a drop in crime in the areas surrounding the cameras.