New York, NY – NYPD Counterterrorism Announces Plan to Tap Into Private Cameras

New York, NY – The NYPD plans to have eyes on nearly every inch of Midtown under an ambitious plan to tap into private cameras and beef up its own supply over a 30-block stretch from river to river.

Police hope to “leverage the private-security resources” in the area – which spans from 30th Street to 60th Street – by building better relationships with building managers and security personnel, said NYPD counterterrorism analyst Jessica Tisch.

The effort comes in the wake of Pakistan Taliban terrorist Faisal Shahzad’s bungled attempt to set off a car bomb in Times Square. Police believe they need to be as watchful of Midtown as they are of the area south of Canal Street.

The NYPD’s plans – outlined at a breakfast meeting with private building and business security professionals – are modeled upon the “ring of steel” security system in London that Mayor Bloomberg inspected.

London’s system includes 500,000 government and private security cameras. New York doesn’t have as many, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly admitted – although he declined to say how many security cameras the city does have.

NYPD brass expect the Midtown system, which is partially starting up in September, to be more advanced by building “on lessons learned in London,” Kelly said.

He said New York would have a “centralized” monitoring system that will let officers remotely download 30 days worth of information from any camera. In London, officers often must visit camera sites to download pictures they need.

Also, New York’s system will include analytic software capable of detecting unusual events.

For example, if a group of people suddenly collapse to the pavement in front of a camera, the central computer will detect it and alert cops.

Kelly hopes to use about $40 million in federal money to pay for the new system. In the meantime, he plans to use some of the money being spent on the downtown system to kick-start the one in Midtown.

Meanwhile, the terror group behind Shahzad’s failed bomb attempt might end up on the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations.

The Pakistan Taliban – officially known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan – were already being considered for the list before the May 1 Times Square attack, said department spokesman P.J. Crowley.

Now the review of the group’s status is being speeded up, Crowley said.