Ordinance 71 is on the Shreveport City Council’s agenda for its combined work session/regular meeting Tuesday.
This order is on for a first reading. It cannot be adopted until the June 23 council meeting.
Councilman James Green is the sponsor of the ordinance.
If enacted, all Shreveport businesses which sell goods or merchandise will be required to have a digital camera system capable of transferring video to a widely used, portable form of media.
The cameras are to be positioned to record all entrances and exits, all stairways and elevators, all points of sale, all parking lots and all fueling areas, including the faces of persons located in each of these areas.
The cameras must be in operation and recording any time the establishment is open for business and for one hour after closing and shall record video indexed by date and time at a resolution of at least 1080p high definition.
The ordinance requires that all recorded video shall be maintained for at least 30 days and shall be made readily available to law enforcement agencies.
Many questions have been raised about this ordinance. They include:
1. Cost of installation of required camera system;
2. Cost to maintain the required camera system;
3. Scope of businesses subject to the ordinance.
(For example, barber shops / beauty salons that sell hair care products? Or food trucks, portable food stands, produce vendors at parking lots? How about businesses with limited hours of operation — like restaurants open only for lunch? Or churches that sell religious books, tapes, etc.? How about offices that allow employees to sell Girl Scout cookies?)
4. Personal privacy issues concerning release of recorded videos when crimes have not been alleged / committed.
Video camera systems may provide a deterrent to crime. They certainly can be of assistance to law enforcement investigating crime.
However, there are other issues of public policy that should be considered before the adoption of this ordinance.
On Tuesday, prior to the council meeting, Liz Swaine, executive director of Downtown Development Authority sent the following email to council members:
“Councilmembers:
“In downtown Shreveport, we are struggling with all our might to keep small shops, restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, gift and art shops, clothing stores and others that sell ‘goods or merchandise’ in business. It is not just in downtown that we are seeing businesses that are mortally injured from COVID-19 and near economic collapse close. I can read off a list of local closings that I fear will only get longer as time goes on.
“Many of our downtown business partners are small in terms of square footage and revenue — but these small businesses are the bedrock of our community. They are far more important in the health and well-being of our city than the giant big boxes. They provide more jobs, more cumulative sales tax revenue, more neighborhood support.
“Many are struggling to survive, desperate for income. Some are changing their entire business models to simply keep the doors open.
The timing could not be worse for the city to mandate an extensive 1080p digital camera system that covers ALL entrances and exits, stairways and elevators, points of sale, parking lots, fueling area, etc. This could easily cost each business – at minimum — thousands of dollars. To also require 30 days of recording will likely mean that this system will need to be monitored by a security company, which will cost an additional monthly amount.
“A law of this type does not make sense to me. The timing is terrible. We will be showing businesses a government stick instead of a carrot and will be mandating them to spend private dollars that many do not have.
“I would ask that you oppose this ordinance as it is currently written and not create an additional burden on businesses that might not survive it.”
THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE June 12 ISSUE OF FOCUS SB - THE INQUISITOR.