Richford, Vermont - December 23, 2011
It's hard to hide these days in the small town of Richford. No matter the day, no matter the hour, someone may be watching you. Three surveillance cameras now hover over downtown. The town select board had them installed at a cost of $5,000, concerned about a rise in crime.
"It's a good idea to have them," said Jessica Broe of Richford.
That means a sheriff's deputy in St. Albans can now check in on downtown Richford from 33 miles away.
"I think it's nothing but another tool for law enforcement. I don't think we've established anything that hasn't been established anyway," Franklin County Sheriff Robert Norris said.
Most of the businesses in downtown Richford are closed, mainly due to economic reasons. But the owners of one restaurant do say they had to shut down because of crime; they kept getting broken into.
"They steal food, TVs, money, stuff like that. That's why they closed this place up," Broe said.
Richford isn't alone when it comes to fighting crime with cameras. Criminals from bank robbers to murderers have been caught in recent years thanks to surveillance video.
"This is nothing new," Norris said.
But what is unusual is that these cameras are owned by the town and viewed by law enforcement. It is perfectly legal. Some call it a more efficient way of fighting crime in a town where crime rarely happens.
"This would help keep costs down I think, the cameras," said Douglas Lacross of Richford.
Others say it's a case of Big Brother.
"I ain't crazy about it at all," one man said. "I like my privacy. It just sucks having someone watch you all the time."
It's a camera controversy capturing the attention of a town.
Richford is paying for the cameras using funds that were earmarked to employ a second constable.
Richford isn't breaking new ground. Bristol had a security camera installed five years ago and Brattleboro is in the process of installing them in parts of that city's downtown.
