Round Lake Beach to keep eye on vandals

An ongoing graffiti problem has prompted Round Lake Beach officials to take deterrence to the next level.

The village board on Monday authorized spending about $6,800 for a portable digital camera to help curb a nagging and expensive situation in town.

"We have a lot of vandalism issues," said Gary Bitler, interim police chief. "We're looking for another tool to fight that."

The FlashCam 880K Digital Vandalism Deterrent System is expected to deliver images of would-be offenders superior to that of grainy surveillance videos.

"It has a very nice range and a very high resolution so you can actually tell when you take the picture, `That's so and so,'" Bitler said.

Municipal buildings, parks, the train station and other areas have been vandalism targets.

"For the most part, it's gang related," he said. "Every once in awhile, you'll get some kids doing their own thing."

Village officials have been monitoring the problem for some time, said Village Administrator David Kilbane.

"The board has been talking about it for awhile. They just wanted to find the right package that did what the police wanted it to do and was affordable," he said.

The programmable camera, which can run on solar power, will be mounted on poles or buildings in problem locations and is self-contained so it can be moved as needed. The purchase also includes three "dummy" cameras.

"We can rotate them so nobody will know which one is which," Kilbane said.

The camera has a range of 100 feet, can operate in total darkness and can be zoomed. Images can be downloaded remotely.

One case of vandalism cost the village $5,000 in damage and cleanup, Kilbane said.

"It's a cost that we're concerned with enough that we need to get more deterrence," he added.

This is the first camera to be deployed for this purpose in the village and is among the first in the area, according to Bitler.

The village hopes to have it installed and operating by spring.