Sea Isle City Adding More Surveillance Cameras Around Town

Every day, Police Chief Anthony Garreffi is quickly able to check out what is going on throughout Sea Isle City without having to jump in his patrol vehicle and drive around town.

In fact, he doesn’t even have to leave the police department’s communications center at City Hall.

All he has to do is to take a look at the video screens inside the room to watch the live images being streamed to police headquarters by a series of surveillance cameras strategically located around town.

In the next phase of a multiyear program, Sea Isle plans to add more surveillance cameras this year to help the police department keep an “electronic eye” on some of the busiest parts of the island.

City Council has approved a $23,142 contract to add cameras on Landis Avenue at 60th, 62nd and 63rd streets. Separately, another camera will be added at Landis and 38th Street.

The camera at 38th Street will be next to the Wawa convenience store in Sea Isle’s downtown business district.

The cameras at 60th, 62nd and 63rd streets will mainly overlook the busy area encompassing the Acme retail shopping center as well as the cluster of restaurants, bars and other businesses located nearby.

The high-resolution cameras will livestream color images directly to police headquarters at City Hall around the clock year-round. Police will also have the capability to watch the cameras on other devices, including their cellphones and on their mobile data terminals in their patrol vehicles, Garreffi said.

Garreffi explained that the cameras allow police to keep an eye on parts of the city when they’re not actually there on scene.

They will also help police in their investigations by capturing a high-resolution image and description of criminal suspects, Garreffi noted that cameras on Sea Isle’s Promenade helped police identify a group of juveniles involved in an aggravated assault case last summer.

Cameras on the Promenade also have helped police locate lost children, Capt. Steve Conte said in an interview last year.

    Surveillance cameras installed along the Promenade include one attached to the gazebo at JFK Boulevard.
  

Garreffi said he hopes the city will add even more cameras around town as part of its multiyear program.

“If we see more areas where we need more cameras, we’ll make that happen,” he said in an interview.

Most of the existing surveillance cameras are concentrated along the oceanfront Promenade. So far, there are 15 on the Promenade, Garreffi said.

Altogether, Sea Isle plans to spend about $400,000 for its multiyear program to install surveillance cameras throughout town.

For the first phase, City Council approved a $195,693 contract in 2022 for 13 cameras on the busiest parts of the Promenade between 36th Street and 44th Street.

Sea Isle followed up by adding cameras in the heart of the downtown business district in 2024.

Most recently, cameras were placed in the marina area on 42nd Place, in front of the Sea Isle Welcome Center on John F. Kennedy Boulevard and at 42nd Place and Park Road near the arched “Welcome to Historic Fish Alley” sign that greets visitors to the neighborhood of popular restaurants.

Another camera was installed at the intersection of JFK Boulevard and Central Avenue along the main entryway into town. This camera is close to the children’s playground on JFK Boulevard.

Sea Isle has a year-round population of about 2,100 residents, but the summer season traditionally brings about 50,000 to 60,000 visitors and vacationers.

The surveillance cameras are part of the city’s broader strategy to monitor areas that attract large crowds, including the Promenade and the downtown business district packed with bars, restaurants and retail shops.

    One of the city's newest surveillance cameras, seen directly underneath the banner, is at the intersection of John F. Kennedy Boulevard and Central Avenue.