We’ve gotten lots of questions about the new solar-powered surveillance-video trailers at Westwood Village.
Five are in place around the center. The company that makes them, Utah-based LiveView Technologies, says 3,500 are in use at a variety of sites – construction, energy, retail, government. According to the company’s website and a promotional video, the trailers send streaming video, and have the potential for features from thermal detection to “vehicle recognition.” You might also have noticed they have speakers, so warnings can be delivered (as in this marketing video).
They’ve drawn media attention in other places where they’ve been used or considered – Walmart stores use them under the name Lot Cops, for example. In Eugene, Oregon, the police are considering using them; a cost of $20,000 to $85,000 each was cited in coverage there.
So you’re being watched. But who’s watching? We took that question to Westwood Village management. The center’s managers aren’t allowed to talk with the media, so they sent our inquiry to the communications team at their company, Madison Marquette. The resulting response was basically “no comment”:
Thank you for your inquiry. Because the safety and security of our shoppers, employees, restaurants and retailers is of the utmost importance, we do not share the specifics of our security programs or procedures since doing so could comprise our security efforts.
Right now, many WWV storefronts are vacant or closed by government order, so the security need is different than pre-COVID-19. But it was just a year ago that you might recall police had planned to deploy a monitoring tower at the center and elsewhere; that ultimately never happened.
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