Along a gritty stretch of street in Brooklyn, police this month quietly launched an ambitious plan to combat street crime and terrorism.

But instead of cops on the beat, wireless video cameras peer down from lamp posts about 30 feet above the sidewalk.

They were the first installment of a program to place 500 cameras throughout the city at a cost of $9 million.

Hundreds of additional cameras could follow if the city receives $81.5 million in federal grants it has requested to safeguard Lower Manhattan and parts of midtown with a surveillance “ring of steel“ modeled after security measures in London’s financial district.

The city already has about 1,000 cameras in the subways, with 2,100 scheduled to be in place by 2008. An additional 3,100 cameras monitor city housing projects.

Privacy advocates say the NYPD’s camera plan needs more study and safeguards to preserve privacy and guard against abuses like racial profiling and voyeurism.

The department “is installing cameras first and asking questions later,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

She concedes cameras can help investigators identify suspects once a crime has been committed, but argues they can’t prevent crime. She cited a 2002 study that concluded surveillance cameras used in 14 British cities had little or no impact on crime rates — just as they didn’t keep terrorists from bombing the London subway system last year.

“The London experience shouldn’t be misconstrued that the ‘ring of steel’ prevents terrorism,” she said. “But that’s how it’s being pitched.”

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Lawmakers are considering a measure that would help police catch motorists who run red lights.

A bill being discussed in the Illinois House would give communities the authority to install cameras, controlled by sensors under the pavement, at intersections to catch red-light scofflaws.

The State Senate voted 33-22 in favor of the bill, introduced by John J. Cullerton, D-6th, of Chicago.

Cullerton said Chicago’s red-light camera program has been successful. (I would say $22+ million is pretty successful)

“This bill is a tremendous promoter of roadway safety and it dramatically reduces fatalities at red lights,” Cullerton said.

After the Senate approved the bill to give other communities authority to install cameras, State Rep. Angelo “Skip” Saviano, R-77th, introduced it in the House; it currently is in the Rules Committee.

Saviano, like Cullerton, rejects privacy objections to the program.

“I don’t consider it Big Brother,” Saviano said. “It will eventually act as a deterrent.”

But State Sen. Wendell E. Jones, R-27th of Palatine, voted against the bill, one of 22 senators to do.

“I think we’ve got enough big government looking down our back, so I tend to vote against that kind of thing,” Jones said. “You can go too far with the government looking at everything.”

He also doubted the program would be applicable to smaller towns.

“I know that in Chicago it’s probably a safety factor, but I doubt that it is anywhere else in the state. And it’s just more intrusion into people’s lives,” Jones said.

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Anne Arundel County in Maryland has been running five red light cameras for five years, during which period they raised a fat $2.85 million in ticket revenue. Unfortunately, a comparison of accident statistics shows that the cameras have increased the rate of accidents.

Immediately after installation, the cameras sparked a 40-percent increase in rear-end collisions, and never looked back, with five-year increases in accident rates far exceeding a 10-percent increase in traffic.

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New cameras will soon start taking digital images of red-light runners, Los Angeles police said Tuesday.

In the event of an emergency, the cameras, which are from Nestor Traffic Systems Inc., could also provide live images, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The city’s contract with Affiliated Computer Services lapsed last year and red-light cameras at 16 intersections were deactivated. The contract was not renewed because officials learned that 20 percent of photographed red-light violations were dismissed “due to lack of clear evidence to prove the violation,” according to police.

The City Council has approved a $3.12 million contract with Nestor to install camera systems at as many as 32 intersections.

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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reviewed accident data at a number of intersections across Georgia and found accidents and injuries are increasing, not decreasing, as a result of the use of red light cameras. Cities employing these devices are, however, generating substantial revenue from their photo ticket programs.

In Marietta, rear-end collisions increased 49 percent from 65 to 97 from 2004 to 2005. At the intersection of Cobb Parkway and Windy Hill road, there were 108 accidents of all types in 2004 and 163 in 2005. Since their installation, red light cameras have generated $2.7 million for the city.

In Duluth, accidents increased 21 percent, from 75 to 91, between March 2004 and February 2005 compared with March 2005 and February 2006. The city’s lone camera made $790,000 in the current fiscal year and should make a million the next.

Eric Skrum, communications director for the National Motorists Association says the data show cameras are not working as promised. “These devices don’t increase safety at all,” he said, “I certainly don’t consider it a safety improvement when you have more of one type of accident and less of another.”

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