By Jordan Heller
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Mayor Michael Bloomberg traveled across the pond Tuesday in the hopes that studying London's expansive network of surveillance cameras would help him better equip New York to deal with the threat of terrorism in the wake of the attempted Times Square bombing.
London's camera network, dubbed the “Ring of Steel,” consists of 12,000 cameras located throughout the London subway, and has been instrumental in fighting crime and terrorism. In 2005, the closed circuit TV system was used to identify the terrorists who attacked the Tube.
“London has a history of standing up to terrorism,” said Bloomberg after a tour of the system, according to The Independent. “And I am here to learn from others, see what works best, and try to fix things before they become a problem.”
Bloomberg said he wasn't sure that the Times Square incident would have been avoided if cameras were in place.
"It's not clear that they would have helped in Times Square, other than if the perpetrator knew there were cameras, he might not have tried to come into Times Square," the mayor said, according to the New York Post. "But certainly cameras help after the fact and they help as a deterrent."
NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said on Tuesday that five years from now, there would be a "robust" surveillance camera system in lower Manhattan. The city's "Lower Manhattan Security Initiative" will ultimately consist of 3,000 monitored surveillance cameras and is modeled after London's "Ring of Steel." A similar plan is being looked at for Midtown.
"As far as midtown Manhattan, it depends on money, and we are looking for federal money in regard. I can't give you a specific time frame, but we are looking to start that as soon as possible," Kelly said.
