Since Hammond passed an overnight gas station curfew on August 14 in an effort to curb crime, 10 of the city’s gas stations have agreed to integrate their surveillance cameras into the city’s BlueNET surveillance program, a Hammond Police Spokesperson told the Post-Tribune on Wednesday.
Hammond BlueNET, developed in partnership with the Georgia-based tech firm Fusus, allows residents and business owners to register surveillance cameras with the Hammond Police Department so that officers know their location in advance when seeking video evidence of crimes. Camera owners can also opt to have them integrated into the police department’s network, providing a live feed directly to Hammond police. Gary launched its own partnership with Fusus — Operation Safe Zone — in 2022.
Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott, Jr., who pushed for the controversial midnight to 5 a.m. curfew ordinance in part as a means of encouraging participation in BlueNET among the city’s gas station owners. Under the ordinance, owners can petition the city’s Board of Public Works and Safety for an exemption to the curfew, and whether a station’s cameras are integrated into BlueNET is one factor used by the board to determine whether to grant the request, along with location, history of police callouts, and compliance with other city ordinances.
According to Hammond city attorney Kevin Smith, the city has received 17 total petitions for exemptions. Of those, 14 have received hearings before the board and three are waiting to be heard. Two petitions have been withdrawn and one has been rejected. Ten stations have been granted exemptions and one has been granted a limited exemption allowing it to open at 4 a.m. instead of 5.
McDermott said that city has granted more exemptions than he originally anticipated.
“A lot of them had good stories to tell and good arguments to make for why they needed to be open all night,” he said. “It was a happy surprise, I guess.”
The new rule, McDermott said, has strengthened cooperation between the city and its gas station owners, and helped increase compliance with city zoning and safety ordinances.
“It’s nice that we’re clearing them up because it gives the city a little bit more bite,” McDermott said.
In total, 36 Hammond gas stations now participate in the BlueNET system, Hammond Police spokesman Steven Kellogg said. Across the city, 294 cameras have been registered with the program, and 661 have been integrated, meaning police can see the camera footage in real time.
The curfew ordinance was ultimately passed in a 7-2 vote after weeks of deliberations. McDermott and the city council members who supported the bill said that closing gas stations overnight would prevent violent crimes. The ordinance’s critics voiced concerns over the potential for lost jobs.
Kellogg wrote in an email that he was not aware of any violent incidents taking place at the gas stations that were allowed to remain open overnight since the ordinance went into effect on November 1.
