The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Businesses get more time for security systems
Noncompliant gas stations, convenience stores have until July 1.
Most gas stations and convenience stores in DeKalb still do not comply with the county’s video surveillance requirements that went into effect last year, but they will now have more time to get right with a law meant to reduce crime.
A total of 213 businesses are subject to the ordinance, which requires the stores to install and maintain high-quality video surveillance systems covering entrances and exits, cash registers, all gas pumps and any loading docks. Stores must also install cameras in parking lots.
As of Jan. 24, only 69 stores were in compliance, county spokesman Quinn Hudson said.
In a letter to noncompliant businesses last month, the county extended the deadline to July 1. Those not in compliance by then will be subject to citation and license revocation.
The deadline was extended to avoid penalizing businesses in the ordinance’s first year, Hudson said.
“We essentially want to work with our business owners not against them, and the extension allows them to remain in operation while actively working on compliance with the DeKalb County ordinance,” Hudson wrote in an email.
DeKalb County was the first in the region to adopt such an ordinance, which makes a business license a condition of meeting the video surveillance requirements. The stores, which are the site of a disproportionate amount of violent crimes, must have high-resolution video cameras that run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They must also keep the recordings for at least 30 days and provide recordings to police within 72 hours of a request.
Atlanta passed similar, but less sweeping, legislation in August.
The regulations have been controversial, sparking criticism from business owners who have said it’s unfair to put the responsibility for reducing crime on business owners. A Virginia-based civil rights law firm has threatened a legal challenge against DeKalb’s ordinance.
DeKalb County hired six additional code enforcement officers to enforce the new regulations.
Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, who sponsored the legislation, has said inspectors are finding many businesses have video surveillance systems that pre-date the ordinance and don’t meet the new requirements. In particular, many systems don’t keep recordings long enough.
“It does require a bit of education,” Cochran-Johnson said previously. “So there is a conversation.”
Hudson said some businesses were also having trouble hiring contractors to install the surveillance equipment. A low-voltage permit is required to do so, something only certain contractors can pull.
“Some businesses were having trouble locating these specific contractors due to the holiday season and are still having this difficulty to some degree,” he said.
Public records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution show that only two businesses passed their video surveillance inspections on the first try — a Circle K at 4275 Glenwood Road and the J&S Food Mart at 195 Northern Ave.
The 67 other stores were awarded compliance certificates following reinspection.
Of the 213 stores, the county’s records show 16 have closed. It’s unclear if the closures were related to requirements.