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<p>Before sinking more money into Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s camera surveillance system, someone in authority needs to offer proof that the multimillion-dollar setup actually catches criminals.</p><p>Little evidence has been publicly offered of the program&#8217;s effectiveness since the Hawkeye Security System cameras went online in 2010. If no sizable arrest figures are forthcoming, scrap the thing.</p><p>Once ballyhooed as a crime-fighting tool &#8211; capable of both capturing images of bad guys in the act, as well as deterring people from doing dirty deeds in the first place &#8211; the system today offers about as much protection as a miniature poodle. There might be bark left in it, but no bite.</p><p>Lots of the cameras and related equipment no longer function. A Times Leader reporter and photographer recently documented a pile of the system&#8217;s parts, inoperable, gathering dust at police headquarters. Staffers no longer work around the clock to monitor images gathered by nearly 260 cameras posted at city sites including parking garages, schools and playgrounds.</p><p>Neither the school district nor the city&#8217;s Parking Authority, which once contributed fees for the camera system&#8217;s operation, continue to pay toward its upkeep.</p><p>Mayor Tony George&#8217;s administration has asked a consultant to provide an estimate of what it would cost to restore the system to a more useful level.</p><p>&#8220;The concept works. The camera system doesn&#8217;t work,&#8221; George recently said.</p><p>Under the prior administration of Mayor Tom Leighton, the city used more than $3.6 million in grants to create the system. The project seemed driven by a desire to address public perceptions about safety in Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s downtown.</p><p>One year after its startup, Hawkeye was hailed by Leighton as &#8220;an effective weapon.&#8221; He called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz7FA2xgrAE" target="_blank">a press conference</a> during which he referred to the system as a &#8220;model for other cities to copy.&#8221;</p><p>Real-time video supplied by the cameras did allow city police officers to come to the aid of a fellow officer under attack, according to authorities. They also credited the system for assisting in many investigations and arrests, including the roundup of 22 people on drug-related charges for allegedly peddling their product near Public Square.</p><p>Specifics, however, were always hard to come by. Then-police Chief Gerard Dessoye said he didn&#8217;t keep statistics on how many arrests resulted from the cameras&#8217; coverage.</p><p>By January 2013, certain people in the community raised doubts about the camera system&#8217;s abilities. They said it had failed to capture good images of suspects or vehicles in multiple incidents, including a high-profile, hit-and-run case.</p><p>Without definitive numbers today &#8211; on culprits caught versus the potential cost of system repairs and upgrades &#8211; it&#8217;s premature to say that the city should pull the plug on Hawkeye.</p><p>However, we&#8217;re reminded of what Dessoye told a Times Leader reporter in 2011. He credited the relatively new camera system for &#8220;additional arrests.&#8221; &#8220;But as far as the overall effectiveness of the system,&#8221; he said, &#8220;see me in five years. Then we will have a clear, definitive picture.&#8221;</p><p>Five years later, the picture essentially looks blank.</p><style>
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Our Opinion: Surveillance cameras in Wilkes-Barre leave public with incomplete picture