Public safety task force calls for police cameras in Juneau

Video surveillance from a privately installed security camera provides footage of a suspected burglary in downtown Juneau in 2015. (Image courtesy Juneau Police Department)

Juneau should install security cameras in areas with high crime. That’s the recommendation of the Mayor’s Taskforce on Public Safety, which delivered its final report to the Assembly Monday evening.

Deputy Mayor Jerry Nankervis, who chaired the task force, said he felt conflicted about placing cameras in public because of privacy concerns.

But Nankervis suggested that cameras could improve safety and would defer to the Juneau Police Department.

JPD was very concerned about how that system would be: whether that’s a passive unmanned system or an active system that’s manned and where that would go,” the retired police captain said. “We didn’t want to get into the weeds on that. We just said wherever JPD thinks the highest crime areas are that would benefit from use – look at whether that’s an option or not.”

The task force has met 10 times since August. Its recommendations include filling the nine vacancies in the police department, bolstering treatment and diversion programs and hiring an outside contractor to study gaps in social services that contribute to recidivism.

Jacob Resneck, CoastAlaska

Jacob Resneck is CoastAlaska's regional news director based in Juneau. CoastAlaska is our partner in Southeast Alaska. KTOO collaborates with partners across the state to cover important news and to share stories with our audiences.

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