Well, we have at least two of these at my department and they work great…, for their intended purpose.
Fourth of July event drew a HUGE crowd to watch the concert and fireworks. We took one of these and centered it right in the middle of the crowd and it gave us a 360 view. Two officers occupied it and watched the crowd for over 8 hours. They could see and send us (Cops) in to the crowd for medical emergencies (heat related for the most part), fights, lewd acts (you can imagine).
The damn thing worked great. They walked us in using the radios to situations that we wouldn’t have seen, and they video tape us the whole time. We had several officers set up underneath it to deploy and greet people that needed help in the crowd knowing that the Tower was visible.
Now, for the mall parking lot. Our city has a ton of punks that break into cars in public places, say the mall. Throw the tower up and SHAZAM, no more vehicle break ins at the mall. Sometimes cops are up there…, sometimes its empty. Sometimes the video is running…, sometimes its not.
The tower is a great tool that can be used in a multitude of applications.
http://www.lexingtonky.gov/index.aspx?recordid=1868&page=24
KC