CRIME & CAMERAS- The city of Shreveport has seen its share of violent crime of late. Over the weekend, four people were killed and two others hospitalized due to gun violence. Although some arrests have been made, the investigations remain ongoing. Yesterday Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins held a press conference to announce some positive news regarding some high tech tools the city was going to install to help with fighting crime, but before the details were explained he had a somber announcement.
"The violent over this past weekend is absolutely unacceptable," Perkins said."Too many of our parents, our grandparents, siblings in this city are having to bury their loved ones for senseless acts of violence."k
The original purpose for the press conference was the announcement of a new real-time crime center that will monitor 90 video cameras in real time. It’s the last element of a campaign called Safer-Shreveport as a way to use high-technology as another way to crime and assist with public emergencies 24 hours a day.
"The real-time Crime Center will save our officers countless amount of hours doing investigative work. It will help them solve crimes faster and make our community safer." Perkins explained.
"The real-time Crime Center will save our officers countless amount of hours doing investigative work. It will help them solve crimes faster and make our community safer." Adrian Perkins, Mayor of Shreveport, LA
Shreveport Chief of Police Ben Raymond said the video cameras will be a welcome supplement to helping Police investigate crime and solve cases.
"Anytime you have video of a crime, especially with some of the specifics, and you know ideally you combine that with witness statements,"Raymond said. "and then you're able to follow it on the video and piece everything together."
Some cameras are already in place at highway exit ramps and others will be located throughout the city and in some participating businesses. The real-time crime center will have a staff of 12 people who will rotate in shifts.
