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The price of safety can be steep, as more late-night Detroit merchants will learn if City Council members go along with a mayoral idea.
Mike Duggan's administration wants to require every retailer open after 10 p.m. to have high-definition surveillance cameras tied into Project Green Light, a police monitoring service that began in 2016. Gas stations already must join under a 2014 ordinance.
Expanding the requirement would be burdensome for small party stores, neighborhood coney islands and other family businesses. A local law professor sees forced participation as possibly illegal government overreach.
Each participant pays $4,000 to $6,000 at the start, including $450 for a flashing green light outside. There's also a monthly fee for image storage and camera leasing.
"Project Green Light requires high-definition cameras (1080 pixels) that are designated for the program," says a city website. "Project Green Light cameras are not meant to replace your existing camera system, and you cannot link your existing camera system to Project Green Light."
The Detroit Police Department's real-time crime monitoring system is credited with a drop in carjackings and overall crime around participating businesses, reports Chad Livengood of Crain's Detroit Business.
City of Detroit graphic
Duggan tells Crain's that he'll ask the council this year to authorize mandatory participation for any retailer open poast 10 p.m. The mayor wants to start with businesses open between midnight and 4 a.m.
"Carjackings are down 40 percent in two years," Duggan tells Crain's. "There's just no other explanation besides Green Light."
The phased-in mandate could affect about 4,000 businesses. Comcast and Rocket Fiber offer "a program to help reduce upfront costs for your business," the city says. "You can join this program for $499-$995 down, with a cost of about $140-$180/month for digital storage and a lease of camera equipment."
Since January 2016, 231 businesses in Detroit have voluntarily signed up for the program. By year's end, the city expects to have 400 businesses.
If passed, an ordinance expanding required participation would face a likely court challenge. In earlier coverage, law enforcement reporter George Hunter of The Detroit News quotes Larry Dubin, a law professor at the University of Detroit-Mercy:
"The validity of the proper use of power exercised by the city in passing an ordinance is whether it serves the health, safety and welfare interests of the community.
"This ordinance would raise certain issues if challenged. Are there alternative ways to accomplish its goals? Do other cities have this type of ordinance, and if so, (what are) their results? What are the unintended consequences of having this law? These types of issues could raise doubt as to whether this law would be a proper exercise of power."
Hunter also speaks with Justin Winslow, president of the Michigan Restaurant Association, who opposes forcing late-night diners and coney islands to pay thousands of dollars for live security video feeds:
"We would support initiatives to encourage our members to join. But we always get a bit of pause when there’s a mandate. That’s not something we’d likely support."
A Wayne State University faculty member, urban planner Patrick Cooper-McCann, tweets Thursday afternoon:
Someone will definitely sue
— Cooper (@rethinkdetroit) January 4, 2018
