St. Peter isn't the only one looking down on the scenes of his Fiesta week as they unfold.
The Gloucester Police Department, already operating with their mobile unit at St. Peter's Square, will keep their eyes on revelers, both at the festival and from the station.
This week marks the first St. Peter's Fiesta for Gloucester's Homeland Security cameras.
The city installed the 16 half-sphere cameras last year through a more than $500,000 grant split with the city of Salem. Gloucester's mounted cameras primarily appear along the city waterfront, and range in location from Ten Pound Island to the Dun Fudgin Boat Ramp near Gloucester High School. But there's also one near Pavilion Beach, which can keep an eye on the Greasy Pole crowd, and one in St. Peter's Square itself.
Police Lt. Joe Aiello said officers will use the cameras as an additional tool when, and if, something happens during the course of the festival. Aiello, a driving force in writing the homeland security grant, said officers won't be continually watching the cameras.
"I don't want to rely on cameras for surveillance," he said.
Aiello added that watching crowds would be best left up to officers on the ground, noting that the lighting on the square in the evening and the carnival skyline obstruct cameras from keeping a precise watch on the square.
But, they keep a clear line on Rogers Street, and the venues and bars along the way.
Nearly 40 arrests blotted last year's Fiesta weekend, with more than half coming on the Friday night. And while Fiesta officials have emphasized that the arrests — and most of the excessive drinking and accompanying trouble — came off the Fiesta grounds and after the carnival had shut down for the night, police and Chief Michael Lane aim to prevent a similar rash of arrests this year.
Lane said the department will work with a contingent of officers from the Essex County Sheriff's office and State Police. That force is the usual enforcement crowd during Fiesta. But said the two security cameras will help normal enforcement if things turn chaotic.
The department manages the cameras from both the station's dispatch office and the watch commander's office.
The video feeds come through a single screen, rather than a wall of monitors. But the single computer screen can show all working cameras, and focus in on a specific camera. The individual cameras can zoom and rotate 360 degrees — though, on Thursday, the images were blurry during the rain.
Aiello said that even prior to Fiesta the department's had at least seven cases where the cameras were instrumental, and he said they've played a role in many others as well. Last September a citizens group petitioned for the city to remove the cameras, on concerns of violating privacy, and the city administration conducted an internal review of the devices soon after. And police assure residents — and Fiesta goers — they're not keeping nefarious tabs on anyone.
"The last thing we want to do is spy on people," said Lane, adding that, among other things, officers don't have the time for it, either.
Steven Fletcher may be contacted at 978-283-7000 x3455, or at sfletcher@gloucestertimes.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stevengdt.
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