I am a numbers person. I don't know what they're saying unless I have specifics. For all I know, they are comparing apples to bananas. McGrath said police would present the board with crime figures, but didn't give an exact date. But many said they don't need figures to prove the cameras have made a difference.
Cameras are a tool for an overworked police force.
Though 6th Precinct crime is down overall, McGrath said that drug activity has increased in neighborhoods surrounding the park. This fact has fueled critics' argument that the cameras may not have really solved the area's drug problem. Instead, they said, the cameras just moved the bulk of drug activity out of Washington Square Park and onto surrounding streets. But camera supporters said that crime shrinks every time it is pushed from one area to the next. He pointed to the crime crackdown in Times Square, which pushed crime to Eighth Avenue, and eventually decreased it.