by KYW's Mike DeNardo
         
The release of surveillance images from last week's hammer attack on the Broad Street line illustrates how cameras are being used to investigate crimes, and how commuters are increasingly under the watchful eyes of SEPTA surveillance cameras.

Using homeland security money, SEPTA last fall began installing cameras on Broad Street subway trains and some buses.  The images are downloaded at SEPTA depots at the end of each run, but SEPTA assistant GM Pat Nowakowski (above) says that SEPTA police officers using laptops can wirelessly monitor the cameras in real time:
   
"If we were to have some sort of hostage incident or some onboard incident, you could actually pull up within a block of two of that vehicle and get live feeds from the vehicle."

He says the transit agency started installing them last fall to capture evidence in civil and criminal cases:

"We had a situation where an operator was spat upon."

And he says that since September 11th, 2001, riders' privacy concerns have taken a back seat to whatever security the cameras provide:
 
"People's confidence that at least they're protected, their level of confidence of feeling secure is definitely increased, just by the presence of cameras on board the vehicles."
 
In addition to capturing images such as last week's hammer attack (see related story), Nowakowski says the onboard computers automatically flag unusual events:
   
"If people were to fall or anything like that because the vehicle braked suddenly or whatever, it will save that. And that's the stuff that gets tagged."

Nowakowski says 80 of 1,300 buses have the cameras now, as do 36 of 125 cars on the Broad Street line.  More are planned, as more federal money comes in.

(Photo by KYW's Mike DeNardo)