From USA TODAY:
Surveillance video cameras are sprouting in mid-sized communities across the USA as police borrow the crime-fighting tool from big metro areas.
Saginaw, Mich. (population 55,238), last year installed 17 video cameras at a water/skate park and plans to add more by June in other parts of the city, says Mayor Greg Branch. “Crime for us is trending downward, but we still have a lot more crime than we want,” he says. Another factor: Cameras are cheaper than hiring more cops.
“Every city is facing budget pressures,” Branch says. “We can’t put more police on the street.” A $300,000 federal grant will pay for the new cameras.
Big cities such as New York, Washington and Chicago use cameras to monitor high-crime and busy areas, and many businesses have them inside and outside. A store security camera captured last month’s Tucson shooting that killed six and severely wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords…
Click here to read the full article.
