San Francisco saw a drop in crime while the AdamsBlock webcam was live. Many media representatives spoke to local law enforcement and confirmed that in October, November and December, crime on that block had gone down. What fantastic news this is for all local residents and for the police force but since the camera went down, crime is on the rise again.
At the turn of the new year, there were two stabbings in the area and last night, a drive by shooting that would have been caught on camera happened. Shots were fired into a liquor store, 6 people were injured and 1 man was killed. Could this have been prevented with the camera on? Probably not but it may have helped if those committing the drive by knew the camera was up and forced them to rethink where they drove by to shoot. Alternatively, the crime still may have happened and the exact car description and possibly identification of those responsible could have been proven. The camera pointing in that direction was zoomed in on that street corner and was broadcasting in high definition. It would have acted as perfect evidence for police officers and used in court. However, the result of last night’s shooting resulted in the vehicle getting away toward Oakland and the shooters still at large.
I can align with some opinions that people don’t want to be on camera at all times and they feel that their lives are being exposed for the entertainment of anonymous Internet viewers but I have been looking at crime on that block where Adam’s camera was and I know that dozens of crimes could have been prevented if a camera was still broadcasting that street corner.
I’d like to take a moment to put some positive thoughts out to those who lost their lives tonight and the families affected by this horrible incident. Crime will continue unless we can add more police, improve neighborhoods, educate our children and truly get drugs off the street. The camera won’t fix everything but it’s a band-aid for an even larger problem. We have to do something and fast.
