Seattle Urban League President and CEO James Kelly wants 4 surveillance cameras along Henderson street in south Seattle.
A few weeks ago Kelly held a press conference demanding the city install cameras as a means to prevent the shootings and murders that have held steady over the past few years.
Through the Mayor's Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, The Urban League receives funding to provide outreach workers who work with youth to stop violence before it happens. The relationships they create, and the resulting information, are invaluable to the fight against youth gun and gang violence.
But Kelly says street outreach isn't enough. He says in order to get the streets to talk, cameras are needed.
It's an interesting concept. According to the Mayor's office, Hizzoner McGinn wants to know if the community thinks cameras would help the problem and make people feel safer.
Is it enough to feel safe, or, would South Seattle residents actually like to be safe?
Cameras are pretty easy to get around, especially when installed in such a small area. We're talking about 4 cameras on a single street.
It's safe to say that if cameras are installed along Henderson, crime will go down because all the people committing crimes will know where the cameras are. They'd be foolish to commit violent crimes, street robberies or drug deals on camera.
Instead, they'll move to a different street where the cameras can't see them. And then what? Do we move the cameras? Is that a solution? To always be a step behind the ones committing the crimes?
Technology as a method to fight or prevent crime is a smart idea, but the fact is, on the technology front, the ones committing the crimes are winning. They use pagers, codes and lookouts with cell phones to carry out crimes and avoid police. A few cameras on one city block aren't going to change that.
It would be great if there was some way to reduce the number of killings and violent crimes happening in South Seattle, or anywhere for that matter. But there is no magic pill that will stop youth gun and gang violence. We're talking about a culture that has had decades to take hold and become the norm.
It's going to take hard work, consistency and determination to change the tide. Let's not stand by and allow the city's partners to give the appearance of fixing the problem, which is what surveillance cameras would do. Solutions save lives. Illusions make people feel better.