Eyes on Adams Mall

A group of civic-minded Washington State University students will soon spend their weekend nights perched in front of computer monitors, keeping a watchful eye on their peers who make the more popular choice to party at a trendy College Hill hangout.

David Makin, a clinical assistant professor in WSU's Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, said it's remarkable how many of his students have volunteered to help the Pullman Police Department keep tabs on live security camera footage that will soon be broadcast from the area surrounding Adams Mall.

"It's a community within the community," Makin said of the student population's place within the city of Pullman. "These students here, they come in and they leave, and it's nice when they come in and want to give back to the community."

The student volunteers are just one component of the police department's Safety Camera Initiative project, which is being funded with a $300,000 Smart Policing Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Installation of the five security cameras began this week on poles located on streets adjacent to Adams Mall, which includes businesses like Pita Pit, Jimmy John's and Stubblefields.

Observe and respond

Nearly all violent crime in Pullman occurs on College Hill, according to the police department, and the area around Adams Mall experiences more than its fair share of that.

That's why officers intend to use the security camera footage to follow-up on reports of violent and property crimes and to potentially intervene before volatile situations blow up into more serious incidents.

"If we get a call up to the area, we can go and look at the cameras as part of our response," Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins said. "Also, if we get a report of something that did happen there, we can go back and look at the archived footage and look at anything captured on camera that might be helpful for an investigation."

Police also hope the cameras' presence will deter crime in the area by causing people to think twice before throwing that first punch.

As part of the conditions of the grant award, the police department is partnering with researchers from WSU who want to determine whether the cameras have any effect on crime rates and the public's perceptions about police.

Criminal justice/criminology assistant professor Zachary Hays said the police department contacted him for the project because he's on the department's advisory committee and had proposed a survey of public perceptions of the city's police force.

Hays said he is conducting the security camera research with Michael Gaffney, associate director of WSU's Division of Governmental Studies and Services, because Gaffney and DGSS have prior experience developing and analyzing community surveys about police departments.

They received about 500 responses from randomly selected students who took a survey that asked them to rate things like their satisfaction with the police department, safety in the Adams Mall area and how they think the cameras might affect crime.

Hays said a second survey will come out a few months after the cameras have been in operation, and a final survey will be administered another six-to-12 months down the line. The researchers will compare the results of the surveys to see if perceptions changed over time.

In addition to surveying students, he said researchers are also working to get a communitywide survey posted on the police department website.

The results of the first survey weren't too surprising, he said. On average, students expressed positive opinions about Pullman Police, indicated the cameras wouldn't deter them from visiting Adams Mall and they didn't feel the cameras would have a major effect on crime.

"Despite the area being one of the high-crime areas in town, most students do feel safe in the Adams Mall area and in Pullman in general," Hays said.

The other major portion of his and Gaffney's research involves comparing the number of police calls, crime reports and arrests, in addition to case clearance and prosecution rates, before and after the cameras' installation.

Pullman Police Cmdr. Chris Tennant said it's nice to finally make progress on the installation of the security cameras, but he expressed similar feelings about their potential for effective crime deterrence.

"We don't want to have unreasonable expectations," he said. "They're just cameras - they're not miracle workers."

Town-gown partnership

Jenkins said installation of the cameras should be completed during the coming week, but added delays, including backordered parts, have caused the project to be about four months behind schedule. Funding for research could dry up when the grant period expires in September.

"That will reduce the amount of time for research and analysis on the impact of the cameras," he said. "We're in discussions with the Department of Justice about extending the grant perhaps to possibly do additional research at the beginning of next school year. We don't know if that's going to happen."

He said the police department will maintain ownership of the cameras and intends to continue using them after the grant expires.

Jenkins said in his previous work in California, he thought similar camera systems were help in preventing and solving crime.

Makin said he hopes his students will be part of that equation.

Because the police department doesn't have enough paid staff to constantly monitor the security camera footage, students from Makin's technology and criminal justice course this past semester completed the requisite training, background checks and dispatch center visits to earn the police approval to monitor the live security camera footage during peak hours.

The delay in camera installation and the end of the semester means some of those students are moving on and won't be putting their training into action.

"Many of those, about half, are still going to participate even though they're not getting credit," Makin said. "That was by and far one of the most impressive qualities that I picked up on in this class."

He said despite not being enrolled in his upcoming crime prevention course - which will focus on the project throughout spring semester - those students are still willing to help train students in the new course. About 50 students had signed up for that class as of this week.

Each participating student will volunteer for three shifts during the course of the semester, with each shift lasting three hours during the late night and early morning hours of Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

They'll monitor live camera feeds from a secure location on the WSU campus and will call the Whitcom dispatch center if they notice any precursors of violent activity or crimes in progress.

In exchange for their volunteer work, students will receive service-learning credit from the WSU Center for Civic Engagement and can use that documentation on their future resumes.

"They've got practical work experience, and they have familiarity with what's probably the most utilized security technology - it's everywhere," Makin said. "So, they're not just watching camera feeds. They're able to operate it. They have the ability to move around the camera. Having all that is great for them in terms of job marketability."

Jenkins said the footage will also be broadcast to the police department and patrol vehicles, but officers will mostly only monitor activities during peak hours and when incidents are reported.

Protecting privacy

Pullman Police have indicated they primarily intend to use the cameras and recorded footage to respond to and follow-up on violent and property crimes, rather than more minor acts, such as littering.

Jenkins said the department can also use the cameras to investigate crimes like hit-and-run collisions and vehicle prowls.

"We plan to hold on to the recorded footage for about two weeks, then if the footage is determined not to be of any use, it will be recorded over," he said.

Regarding privacy concerns that neighboring residents and Adams Mall visitors may have, he said the police department took a careful approach to developing its security camera policy.

"We've tried to make this a transparent process through the entire project, from when we first were receiving the grant and going through the planning stages," he said. "We held public meetings and took public input, and it helped us develop a policy to help address concerns of abuse. We'll continue to take input (from the public) as we implement the cameras, to continue to address any concerns people have about privacy issues."

Hays said his and Gaffney's research will eventually be available to the public.

"Right now we're just kind of in a period of waiting where the cameras have been installed," he said. "Now we need to wait and give them time to hopefully do their thing."

On the web:

• Information about the Safety Camera Initiative, including answers to resident questions, is available on the Pullman Police Department website at this shortened link: http://goo.gl/JkiVc.

Holly Bowen can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 239, or by email to hbowen@dnews.com. Follow her on Twitter: @DailyNewsHolly