IMPD battles faulty security cameras across city

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - They are a crime deterrent meant to help keep you and your family safe, but 24-Hour-News 8 has learned many city IMPD surveillance cameras are not working.

Each camera costs the city about $8,500 and there are more than 100 cameras IMPD is responsible for monitoring on a daily basis.

Last Wednesday, we learned that 15 of those cameras are out, but would be fixed within 24 hours. Monday, we learn those haven't been fixed -- and even more aren't working.

We've learned currently, 25 cameras throughout the city are not working. The Indianapolis Division of Homeland Security is responsible for monitoring these cameras. They said there are many reasons the cameras could be out.

"We kind of look at is as an enhancement to whatever we are investigating at the time," said Deputy Chief Michael Bates of the Indianapolis Homeland Security Division.

If you look up, chances are you will see one of the cameras and a flashing blue light on a pole in Indianapolis.
Just downtown, we found several up and running. How do you know if the camera at Capital and South or one on Rural and Michigan is working? You won't. But 24-Hour-News 8 learned that out of the 100 plus cameras IMPD is responsible for in the city, a growing number of them are not.

"We've got about 25 out," Chief Bates said. Because of safety and security, officials couldn't say where they are located. Chief Bates said  the reason the cameras are out has to do with a lot of things.

"When I say we have like 25 of them down now, it doesn't necessarily mean that camera is broke; it just means the server may not be able to handle that capacity," he said.

Chief Bates told 24-Hour-News 8's Daniel Miller that right now one server is being used to monitor all of the cameras.

"At any one time its very difficult for this server to keep all 100 plus cameras up and running," Bates said, "There are some cameras that are obviously just broken; it may not be the camera itself, it could be the transmitter. It could be a lot of different things within the camera itself." Chief Bates said age and weather conditions are also to blame. A private security firm is responsible for fixing them.

"It could be anywhere from $15,000 to $25,000 a year to maintain all the cameras," he said.

Deputy Chief Bates said they hope to have all of the cameras working in the next two weeks, but another one could always break down between now and then.

The Department applied for a federal grant. That grant has been approved to get two more servers to monitor the cameras.

However it could be a couple of months before the servers are up and running to monitor the rest of the cameras.