Tower helps cops curb parking lot criminals

Trying a tactic that worked well in Fridley, Plymouth police are using a mobile observation tower to step up surveillance and deter thefts from cars in the parking lot serving the Plymouth Ice Center and Life Time Fitness.

The SkyWatch tower -- borrowed from Metro Transit, which uses it in its park-and-ride lots -- was put in place last week and will be occupied by officers off and on, said Capt. Craig Lindman.

It should be a deterrent at all times, Lindman said, because "The bad guys who steal things won't know if we are in there or not."

It looks like a gadget out of Star Wars. The tower has a dark glass observation pod on top of a mobile base that lifts the pod to boost police to an observation height of more than 20 feet. It is equipped with a surveillance camera and night-vision technology.

Fridley Police borrowed the tower for surveillance in the parking lot of the Fridley Life Time Fitness. They used it for two months and noticed a dramatic decrease in theft from cars, said Fridley Police Capt. Brian Weierke.

"It's a great deterrent," he said.

Health clubs are a magnet for car thefts because "people are going there on their way to work or their way home from work and usually have valuables in their vehicle," Weierke said. "It's a prime opportunity for criminals to steal."

"One of the tower's strengths is its mobility," Lindman said. "It can be strategically placed, as needed, to discourage crime and to provide surveillance information to help apprehend suspects when thefts occur."

Plymouth police also are asking drivers to put any valuables in their trunks before arriving at the parking lot and to keep their cars locked. And they are asking citizens to report crimes when they witness them.

"If people see a window break or see people lurking around the parking lot, we would like them to call 911," Lindman said.