Surveillance Cameras To Monitor Santa Monica Promenade, Pier

NBC ^ | Feb. 15, 2006 | NBC news

[FairOpinion]

Tuesday night the Santa Monica City Council has given the green light for a new video surveillance system at the 3rd Street Promenade and the Santa Monica Pier.

City officials say they decided on the plan after suspicious people took pictures of some of the facilities there.

"Some men were videotaping in a manner that was inconsistent with tourist photography. They were photographing access roads and security structures," said Chief James Butts with the Santa Monica Police Department.

The system will go online as soon as the cameras and recording system are installed.

[FairOpinion]

When they mentioned this on TV news, where I first heard of it, it said they are doing this as an anti-terrorism measure. That statement didn't make it into the internet copy, at least not the updated version.

Also, this is the first I heard of them having found suspicious people who were videotaping in Santa Monica.

[FairOpinion]

Hmmmmm... PING

[FairOpinion]

From another article on the same subject:

"KNBC-TV reports the installation isn’t so much being made because of any crime in the area, but more because of terrorism fears. Reports have been coming in of suspicious people taking pictures and video of the facilities, and both the pier and the Promenade have been the subjects in the past of known al Qaida chatter on possible targets for attack."

http://www.securitysales.com/t_ci_newsView.cfm?nid=2768&numDays=7

[sageb1]

Why am I reminded of an incident 30+ years ago at our apartment? I left the apartment for an hour to do some grocery shopping. When I returned, the lock on the door of the apartment had been broken. Nothing inside had been disturbed. Nothing had been stolen. I called management to report it and they said they'd send someone to make repairs and install a new lock the next day. That evening, the phone rang. It was someone selling renters insurance.

So, in reference to "reports have been coming in of suspicious people taking pictures and video of the facilities," how do we know this to be fact?

[FairOpinion]

In the news report on TV, they implied they actually caught some of these people, but didn't elaborate.

[FairOpinion]

BTW, I doubt that someone selling renters insurance would go around breaking into apartments first. Far too risky, for the meager commission he would make from selling people renters insurance.

[sageb1]

Maybe they should be asked to elaborate. A security company looking to grab a big contract could easily set up a situation to make it appear that people were taking "odd" photographs.

[BurbankKarl]

Santa Monica Playing It Safe

	Posted by Dr. Eckleburg On News/Activism 08/13/2005 11:09:49 PM PDT · 15 replies · 553+ views Los Angeles Times ^ | August 13, 2005 | Rong-Gong Lin II & Martha Groves Santa Monica Police Chief James T. Butts Jr. met with reporters this week and declared a potential homeland security threat. Police received a call last month from a citizen who had taken photos of "Middle Eastern individuals" as they shot video of the Santa Monica Pier and surrounding area in a manner that authorities said was "inconsistent with tourist documentary." ... (Councilman Herb Katz) said the three photos Butts showed the council during the closed session meeting left him with concerns. "There were three people taking pictures on a pier that's a tourist attraction," he said. "They were going under...
Police: 3 Suspects 'Suspiciously' Videotaping At Santa Monica Pier
	Posted by BurbankKarl On News/Activism 08/11/2005 5:23:36 PM PDT · 25 replies · 793+ views NBC 4 News ^ | 8/11/05 SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Three individuals who were seen videotaping the Santa Monica pier in a suspicious manner have been identified and were seen videotaping in other communities, police said Thursday. The investigation began on July 22, when a member of the public who had taken still photographs of the three contacted the Santa Monica Police Department, according to Santa Monica Police Lt. Frank Fabrega. The individuals have been identified, Fabrega said. Police offered no other details other than to say that the department will take additional steps to increase police visibility throughout the city, including the pier and the...
2000 People Evacuated From Local Mall (Santa Monica)
	Posted by BurbankKarl On News/Activism 07/18/2005 9:20:43 PM PDT · 74 replies · 1,265+ views KABC 7 ^ | 7/18/05 SANTA MONICA — Santa Monica police say about 2000 people have been evacuated from the Santa Monica Place mall after a report of a suspicious package. Lieutenant Frank Fabrega says the unidentified package was found in the Robinsons-May department store in the mall at about 4:30 pm.Monday. Fabrega says a bomb squad was called to investigate. Some streets in the area were closed to traffic.

[Clovis_Skeptic]

[FairOpinion]

Thanks for posting the articles about the videotaping, I missed them at the time they were posted here originally.