WASHINGTON – Soon, District of Columbia gasoline stations may be required to install video surveillance cameras under a bill that the city county preliminarily okayed this week, the Washington Examiner reports. The council must vote again before the measure becomes law.
The bill involves signs posted at each pump telling customers about the cameras and reminding them to take their keys from the vehicle and lock the doors. Under the legislation, the Metropolitan Police Department would have to make a public service announcement “warning consumers of the potential dangers at retail service stations,” which would air on Channel 16.
“Taken together the hope is the bill will lead to fewer crimes, more arrests and enhanced safety at gas stations,” said Councilwoman Muriel Bowser, chairwoman of the Public Services and Consumer Affairs Committee.
About two years ago, Councilwoman Yvette Alexander had her purse snatched from her Range Rover while the vehicle was parked at a D.C. gasoline station. Soon after, she introduced the bill currently under consideration.
Bowers reported that the number of thefts from cars reported at D.C. service stations rose 380 percent between 2006 and 2007.
Paul Fiore, director of government affairs with the Washington, Maryland, Delaware Service Station and Automotive Repair Association, said most area gasoline stations already had video surveillance equipment in place. The association is not against the proposal because “it’s got to be viewed as the cost of doing business,” he said.