1 bid made for surveillance gear.

• Position: LOCAL NEWS

Byline: Thomas Caywood

WORCESTER - The city's request for bids on computer equipment and security software to equip a planned surveillance video command center in the police station produced only one bid by yesterday's deadline.

Security Sciences LLC of Lexington submitted the lone proposal, bidding a total of $18,404 for computers, a large television, surveillance software packages, video storage servers, networking equipment and other gear.

The Worcester Police Department intends to build a video surveillance hub from which it can monitor city streets to help direct officers in the field. Critics of the proposal have expressed privacy concerns about the project, dubbed the Real Time Crime Center.

The department has hired a consultant to design the center, which it expects to begin operating next spring. The initial cost of the project is being funded by a $75,000 grant from the state Executive Office of Public Safety.

The project summary provided earlier this month by police, written for unspecified "potential partners," appears to indicate the center will seek to gain access to live security camera video feeds from other government agencies or private entities.

"The RTCC aims to be a clearinghouse for real-time street video. We hope that between select Worcester Police Department assets and those of our stakeholder...