Security cameras in downtown Detroit
Wondering how Dan Gilbert and his team at Rock Ventures keep tabs on the growing Gilbertville empire?
With a mess of cameras, according to a new video from WXYZ (below).
Now, it's not news to say that Gilbert's made security a priority for downtown -- he's hired private security, installed visible cameras, and openly stated that he has a monitoring room in the Chase building.
But no one has been allowed inside before. He even told New York Times reporter David Segal it was off-limits.
This is the first look we've gotten into the brains of the operation. It's a "high tech, multi-million dollar security control room," according to WXZY, covered in dozens of computers monitors that watch over not just Gilbert's 40 or so Detroit properties, but streets and sidewalks surrounding the buildings and properties in 7 different states. Of the 1,000 cameras, over 300 are in metro Detroit.
The cameras are part of a collaborative effort that includes most of the big downtown property owners – General Motors, Ilitch Holdings and Compuware .
Once a month representatives from the companies meet in a Board Room at Compuware headquarters. Members of the Detroit Police Department, Wayne County Sheriff, Wayne State police and private security forces are also represented. The Downtown Detroit Partnership helps coordinate the sharing of information and strategies.
Plus, Gilbert lets Detroit Police use the monitoring system during major downtown events.
"Its proven to be very effective," Detroit Police Chief James Craig said to WXYZ. "I'm hopeful that sometime in the very future that the Detroit Police Department can replicate and even expand beyond the technology being used."
