By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – A new eye in the sky above certain locations in St. John Parish is, according to Sheriff Wayne L. Jones, helping to deter criminal activity and keep residents safe.

Jones said with the help of funding from a federal grant, the parish has begun to install a series of crime cameras in strategic locations throughout the parish. He said the first wave of installation, which includes set up of five cameras, is focused around the busier commercial sectors in the LaPlace area.

“It’s the time of year where criminal activity has the tendency to escalate around larger retail stores,” Jones said. “We just want people to feel safe when they are out and about shopping.”

Jones said his office is continuing to determine future locations for more cameras. He said initial plans include installation of 20 wireless cameras in locations on the east and west banks of the parish. He said he hopes to have all of the cameras up by the early part of next year.

In addition to installation of the cameras, Jones has increased patrols during the holiday shopping season and has again deployed an aerial observation unit in one shopping center parking lot that can send a deputy 30 feet in the air.

The unit, which was purchased in 2007 for about $90,000, includes three stationary cameras and one remotely operated camera with 360-degree line of sight. Sheriff’s Office officials have dubbed the crime fighting tool “Big Brother,” in reference to author George Orwell’s novel “1984” about a world in which the government views all activity through surveillance cameras. Sheriff’s officials contend, however, these initiatives are not meant to intrude.

“It is a tool that can aid in investigations, aid in dispatching and aid in deterring criminal activity,” said Capt. Troy Hidalgo, technology director for the Sheriff’s Office.

“We want people to feel safe but not feel like they are being watched,” he said.

Hidalgo said authorities began installing the cameras in October in preparation for the shopping season. He said the system, which is tied into the parish’s 911 communications center, is completely wireless and can be monitored and controlled through a series of connected computers.

He said the system is similar to crime camera initiatives in Orleans and Jefferson parishes.

“The cameras are completely out in the open and unconcealed,” Hidalgo said. “We want people to know that they are there and working.”

In October, the Sheriff’s Office received approval from the St. John Parish Council to install the cameras on utility poles.

During an Oct. 12 council meeting, Jeff Clement, chief civil deputy for the St. John Sheriff’s Office, told the council a pair of grants totaling $251,782 from the Edward Byrne Memorial Assistance Grant Program would fund most of the cost of the cameras.

He said a Baton Rouge Company, MMR Constructors Inc., was awarded a $315,142 contract to install the cameras. He said the Sheriff’s Office would be responsible for the remainder of the funding.

Hidalgo said the camera system was tested out during the parish’s annual Andouille Festival.

He said a surveillance camera posted on a pole in the park along U.S. Highway 51 near the festival site was a great tool for deputies monitoring the festival weekend.

“We had the camera on the pole and also deployed our ‘Big Brother’ unit,” Hidalgo said. “They both provided us with excellent views of everything going on that weekend.”

Hidalgo said the Sheriff’s Office hopes to expand the program within the next year to include video conferencing between judges and jail inmates for scheduled court appearances. He also hopes to have remote access for all deputies through laptops inside police units.