Surveillance cameras coming to East Ocean View

It's amazing to me how important things become to city council when some of their own live where there is a problem. I recall a time in OV when you couldn't even get a pothole fixed in the street. Now it's "lets get the slumlords", lets clean up the neighborhood(we tried that too),yada yada. We (former longtime residents who cared) ask you to do all that seems important to you now, to no avail, you simply turned and looked away. When some of your closest friends are slumlords it's kind of hard to be gunho on that one huh? You never made any codes or anything important when my parents lived there. The city ripped my parents off so bad. I know how many sleepless nights my parents had at the city's expense...may you all have the same.

The City is trying to cope with a criminal element that has successfully taken control of large areas of OV and it will take a sustained multi-faceted approach including more Police, cycle patrols, Cams, citizen involvement, etc. and motivate the Police and Jack Doyle to start cleaning the area of Gangs. We have a very good Mayor, Police Dept. and CA and they are taking the correct steps. This is their test, their chance to prove to the citizens of Norfolk that they are effective and even innovative public servants. I hope additional steps are taken and the effort continues because right now the gangs are laughing at us. Free Ocean View from the Gangs!! With the gangs gone, imagine of the possibilities.

Back when they tore down east end with all the drug and crime infested low rent property and build what is currently there crime simply moved across the street and added to what was already a bad problem. Time to get rid of the same type of real estate that attracted the same type problem across the street. Police could be there 24/7, these people do not care, the solution is simple...take it away and offer incentives to rebuild within that area once its gone.

I have mixed emotions about the camera. I do think they are unsightly for incoming buyers of overpriced homes in that section . I live in OV, not in an area like Pretty Lake, and we don't have that klind of problem. Norfolk, like most cities is made up of pockets. You can be in a nice area in one minute and in a bad one 2 blocks later. If the camera's put a face on the criminal then I'm all for it and think other cities like the east end of Newport News should be doing the same thing. If they are just for decoration then it's a waste of money. We keep hearing about slumlords. Who are they? Why not publish the names of those slumlords so people can be more aware of who they rent from?

How about some new ideas to solve crime and to get rid of the criminals. How about building a police substation along ocean view ave that is staffed 24/7. Or how about Norfolk cut back on welfare benefits. Zero tolerance gang policy that is enforced. Raze all of the low income homes in the area. Cameras are a good start, but it will not solve the problem 100%.

So many thoughts, so little room. Cameras are not going to prevent crime. Proof? Ask any corner store or bank in the city that has been robbed. An increased police presence on those back streets, however , may have a better effect on crime prevention than having a cop on every other corner of Ocean View Ave padding their quotas with traffic offenders. Second, it's not a question of fear but of legality. I'm no lawyer but doesn't this infringe on our constitutional rights? Why stop on the streets, why not put cameras in our homes to make sure we aren't planning anything illegal. Third, hypothetically, citizens @ southern shop. center help pay for "crime prevention" in EOV? Fair? Have you gone down Ft. Worth Blvd, day or night? No one does.

How does a camera down the street make me any safer?? Would you be willing to walk thru those neighborhoods once the cameras are in place?

it seems east oceanview gets things done to satisfy the high income residents!!!! i live in the littlecreek rd area that was slated for renewal but that will not happen.why not cameras in the texas st areas that are by far more crime ridden than ocean view.i guess it all comes down to $$$$$ and the folks that stuff the city councils coffers that get all the resourses

Has the traffic cameras that Virginia spent Billions of dollars on over 10 years reduced traffic or, just provide footage for the TV taffic reports? We're getting hit with HRTA taxes, I guess not! Cameras won't be that effective as a crime deterent either. Maybe I'm wrong. If so, let's put cameras in the neighborhoods of Mayors Fraim and Oberndorf. Read their beer labels in their cars. Or whatever is in their car. Surely no criminal would dare enter Mayor Oberndorf's home while Bill O'Reily's cameras were there. What is good for the poor is good for the wealthy and priviledged.

While installing cameras may deter some crime, I think a stronger police precence letting the bad guys know that the police are watching. Also if more people would just take a stand against crime, meaning report activity/crime to police, and being diligent taking back their neighborhoods. Let the criminals know we are watching. By No means should you put your life endanger trying to take on the criminals; However most people have the attitude ""Well, it's not affecting me, so there for I'm not getting involved" and they do nothing. I say Open your eyes, be watchful, and keep calling the poilice. Contact your local offiicals and complain,, complain, complain. Demand they take action!Come on folks take a stand make a difference.

I think there should be strict rules as to what exactly they can be used for. They should be used only in areas with high rates of violent crime and should be used only for tracking, preventing, and prosecuting in cases of that nature. Obviously spotting a missing child or catching an abductor in the act would be a great benefit but using the cameras for anything but these types of events should be completely illegal. The cameras shouldn't be able to be used as probable cause for marijuana usage, adultery cases, etc. They should not be a tool for spying on the general public. No one should get a traffic ticket as a result of the cameras, be harassed about high grass, or anything seen on the camera that is not a violent offense.

I lived in Ocean View for a little shy of three years. It was purely on accident, because I rented my townhouse online from another state...after being told it was a "family friendly" neighborhood, a stone's throw away from NAB...yeah right! I think the cameras are a good idea, even though they will most likely be vandalized within no time. When we lived there, gangs of people would walk down the center of street, on Pretty Lake, and refuse to move for cars. They literally think they own the roads! A bullet through my adjoining neighbors bedroom wall convinced us all to move. Despite the multi million dollar homes, gangs are rampant, and something needs to be done!

I think this is a great idea. People are less likely to commit crimes if they are being watched. A little pricey, but no camera is worth more than the life of someone. Thanks City Hall for finally agreeing to this!

I think bulldozers running the length of Pretty Lake Avenue, from 3rd Bay to 5th Bay streets, and along Pleasant Avenue, from 5th Bay to 21st Bay streets would drastically reduce crime in those areas.

About time a government takes positive steps to protect the public. Now we will hear the whinning about spy cams, invasion of privacy and the other silly noise. Public streets people. No expectation of privacy.

Cameras don't stop crime,they tell you where to send the cleanup crew.If they 'work' in Virginia Beach,why the crime wave every year on 17th st.?Why won't they show the tapes publically,so we can see how often they focus on hotel room windows of 'interest'to smarmy,voyeuristic cops?The government has no business monitoring the law abiding,especially in their own yards,as this will do.If this government spying has no downside,let cameras monitor the mayor and councilmen wherever they conduct their business,have someone follow their every move as part of this 'crime prevention' effort.If they're law abiding,they have 'nothing to fear'.Would that reduce the backroom deals that are so much a part of the Fraim administration?Creepy.

Whenever problems arise the first thing people ask for is government interference.
Councilman Wright figures cameras will stop or lessen crime in Ocean View. Yeah, right. Robbers rob convenience stores looking right at surveillance cameras.
National and government officials clamor for intrusive looks into ordinary people's lives. Give up your rights for safety. Wiretap the people, terrorists are coming!
Lights, cameras, action! Government is drunk on voyeurism. The people convinced safety lies in government peeping through their collective windows.
What ever happened to people looking out for each other, watching their neighbors homes? I say open your window, give evidence,dont cower
behind curtains. Get involved!

I'm praying for Norfolk that it won't become another Baltimore with a ghetto mentality. Citizens her need to come out and stand up unlike Baltimore where people there are too afraid to sit in front of their own home for fear of retaliation or fear of getting shot. Baltimore has been terriorized by these thuggish gang members and the currently mayor Dixon is incompetent. Hope it is not the same for Norfolk.

The City needs to spend money in OV, not just on the cameras and more police, but on improved infrastructure like road resurfacing, utilities and trash clean-up. Much of the area looks like a dump so people treat it like one. Incredibly, the City is now debating whether to spend $100k on cameras that might've prevented a murder, but had no trouble spending $22M to help a rich developer get richer. Norfolk City Council members, read "The Tipping Point" to see how New York City solved its severe crime problem on its subways. The City concentrated its efforts on cleaning the graffiti from the cars and stations and not allowing it to return. Then it stopped allowing even minor crimes to go unnoticed. These smart expenditures paid off 4 many.

We need some on Wilson Road to!

go ahead erect your camera's - it's only going to encourage more antics and before you know it the cameras will be missing and for sale in the nearest pawn shop - just what the younger sect want - a challenge against the man - let's get it on - what idiot's - these cameras are just the fodder needed to bait more mis-behavior - and if they go missing and are not in the pawn shop they'll probably be dropped off on Boss Burfoot's front stoop - are they sling shot proof??

We need to find it unaceptable for people to live in any area and continue to commit crime. In my opinion east ocean view is no different than West OV and Wiloughby. I ride my Bicycle down Ocean View all the time. After having children threaten me and chase me, watching police chases, and seeing apparent drugs deals, I now go elsewhere. Last weekend I had a conversation with a Norfolk police officer who told me that a house in my area was a known drug house. My question is what is being done? Is this acceptable? Do we wait until there is a death?

Zero Tolerance on noise, call Norfolk and complain about noise from a drinking party at 11pm, police show up at 2am and say you should have told the drunks to quiet down. It takes a death

Personally I think cameras are a great idea. Not only will they be a deterrent to crime but will prove beneficial in apprehending and solving crimes. What's the downside? I don't think citizens mind seeing their tax money used in ways that protect them. Giving up some privacy seems a small price to pay for more peace of mind. I also think having these in classrooms would add to safety and teacher accountability.

It allows for expanded coverage and monitoring for the police who have limited resources. They can also use the video to disprove misguided allegations from an unnamed city council member that has a racial slant.

Since the police department has no desire to lose their revenue and reassign speed trap officers to actually protecting citizens, we should fully support these cameras. Maybe with enough coverage, Norfolk will feel a little safer and not like 1980s Detroit.

Surveilance cameras do not prevent a crime from happening. All they are capable of doing is recording a crime taking place. The police need to take a more active role in policing the community. Do something more about the people committing these crimes than just taking their pictures.

The majority of the people in the area, the honest hard working folks, have nothing to fear from cameras. Only the criminal element needs to hide from sight. It's an idea long overdue.

For our ever-loving society where our beloved people don't care who they hurt, run over or crash into, it's a great idea. There should be more. If we want to claim an invasion of privacy, well get over it, we don't have privacy thanks to the Politicians. The Politicians, Judges and Lawyers have put us this way with their leniency and laws that it's gotten out of control, and police can only do so much with their "Selective Law Enforcement". If the cameras make it safer, so be it, it's been proven. Maybe less of our kids and loved ones will get killed at intersections and streets. What do you think parents?

Then they must also think that warrantless wiretapping of your phone calls and emails by the government shouldn't bother you either. You're not doing anything wrong, are you? Oh, that's right, Randy is the government! This is only the beginning of the total surveillance society in Norfolk and it will only spread from here. First it's "select" podunk neighborhoods and then it's everywhere. I know the council doesn't care whether I live or die, but this will surely make me sell my house (if I can) and leave OV forever. I can deal with the slumlords and crime because they will go away when the property values rise. The cameras will stay forever.

But then you have to pay someone to monitor the cameras. Of course a camera will only record a crime, such as the racial mob attack on the three young people recently. So, like always, the city council leaves off the rest of the cost of the cameras. Not to mention, like always, the police are the last ones to arrive on a crime seen. That's not the PDs fault, the criminals don't schedule a time for crime. Money better spent would be to hire a couple of more police officers and pay them appropriately. Cameras are great for recording an event, but that's after the fact and wouldn't have prevented the racial attack. It's time for the judges in the area to start giving sentences that fit the crime, that would stop a lot of the crime. Vote-Em-Out