New York plans 3,000 surveillance cameras to fight terror, traffic

New York - London's so-called "ring of steel" has prompted New York City to seek to expand its own anti-terror surveillance camera programme to the economic belly in lower Manhattan, news reports said Monday. Provided anti-terror funding will be obtained, up to 3,000 surveillance cameras should be installed in the large area comprising Wall Street and the World Trade Center, which is being reconstructed from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Currently about 100 such cameras have been installed to monitor mostly traffic in lower Manhattan.

"This area is very critical to the economic lifeblood of this nation," The New York Times quoted the city's Police Commissioner Ray Kelly as saying. "We want to make it less vulnerable."

Kelly was seeking 15 million dollars from Washington to complement the 10 million dollars provided by the city to expand the surveillance programme, which will be run both by government's and private security groups.

In addition to anti-terror concerns, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wanted to use surveillance cameras as license-plate-readers for cars in downtown and lower Manhattan, proposing to charge them 6 dollars per day.

By contrast, drivers pay 20 dollars a day in London.

Bloomberg's proposed driving fees have not been accepted by New York State's legislature in Albany.

London's ring of steel, with thousands of cameras already monitoring residents and traffic, has been part of the British government's tough programme to fight terrorists, and played a key role in investigating the attempted bombings in London and attack on Glasgow airport late last month.

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