As civil liberties advocates and city officials debate the city’s plans to implement a new surveillance system, three security cameras are already operating on Del Paso Boulevard.

Joann Cummins, district director for City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy, said the Del Paso Boulevard cameras will be useful for recording evidence to prosecute a couple of liquor stores that are allegedly creating a public nuisance.

The Sacramento Press reported in a July 8 story that the local American Civil Liberties Union has raised objections to new cameras that may be installed on K Street and at other locations, arguing that they do not decrease crime. The city plans to buy 32 security cameras, four mobile surveillance trailers and other related equipment. The $615,000 surveillance package would come from Federal Homeland Security grant funds. The state will distribute the federal grant funds to the city.

The Del Paso Boulevard Partnership, a group that advocates for businesses in the area, as well as other businesses, asked Sheedy’s office to install the three cameras on the street, Cummins said, adding that while the cameras may not capture images of crimes, they will be useful for collecting evidence.

The Del Paso Boulevard cameras, which were installed earlier this year, cost $25,000 and were paid for out of redevelopment funds.

Sacramento Police Department spokesman Norm Leong said there have not been many cases -- of which he is aware -- when the three security cameras have been used as evidence. The cameras may be preventing crime, he said, noting that it is not possible to gauge prevention.

The Sacramento Press asked for statistics on how often the police department uses the security cameras. Police officers document usage of surveillance images in reports, but the department’s computer system does not track how often officers review or make copies of footage from security cameras, Leong said.

Cummins said that the cameras will enable city officials and staffers to collect evidence of public nuisance problems allegedly generated by specific businesses on the street. The cameras will provide surveillance footage that city officials can gather after crimes or problems have been committed, she said. The footage can then be used as evidence, she explained.

Sheedy’s office reviewed numerous studies on surveillance cameras and concluded that cameras do not usually capture crimes, but they do capture evidence, Cummins said.

She also said that the cameras on Del Paso Boulevard are useful because there have been traffic accidents near the cameras. Cars have crashed into city property on the street, Cummins said. Footage from the cameras can give the city information about the vehicles, she said, and make sure that the damage to the city property is paid for by the driver’s insurance company.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.