Surveillance targeted to convention

[hightime]

By Ralph Ranalli and Rick Klein, Globe Staff | July 18, 2004

An unprecedented number of video cameras will be trained on Boston during the Democratic National Convention, with Boston police installing some 30 cameras near the FleetCenter, the Coast Guard using infrared devices and night-vision cameras in the harbor, and dozens of pieces of surveillance equipment mounted on downtown buildings to monitor crowds for terrorists, unruly demonstrators, and ordinary street crime.

For the first time, 75 high-tech video cameras operated by the federal government will be linked into a surveillance network to monitor the Central Artery, City Hall Plaza, the FleetCenter, and other sensitive sites. Their feeds from cameras mounted on various downtown buildings will be piped to monitoring stations in the Boston area and in Washington, D.C., and officials will be able to zoom in from their work stations to gather details of facial descriptions or read license plates.

With Boston Harbor just a few steps from the arena, the Coast Guard will be using its new ''hawkeye system" -- in place in one other port in the nation -- to watch area waterways. The network of infrared imaging, radar, and cameras that operate in both day and night conditions will give security officials a real-time picture of the harbor, and provide agencies an early warning if an unexpected ship enters area waters.

An unspecified number of State Police cameras are also being installed, and more than 100 previously existing MBTA cameras will be used to monitor area subway and bus stations. Law enforcement officials will have as-needed access to as many as 900 cameras that have been operated for months or years by the Massachusetts Port Authority, the state Highway Department, and the Big Dig.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/conventions/articles/2004/07/18/surveillance_targeted_to_convention?mode=PF