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May 11, 2009 9:45 pm US/Central
Surveillance Cameras Coming To Uptown Dallas
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
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A security camera is seen in the World Trade Center PATH station July 9, 2007 in New York City. A London-style surveillance system, dubbed the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative, is being planned to blanket the area.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
The Uptown district of Dallas is one of the city's most popular hot spots.
"West Village and Uptown is a pretty happening place. It's probably a good idea to keep an eye on what's actually going on down here," said Uptown resident Natalie Kashefi.
The Uptown Public Improvement District spent $160,000 for 11 high-tech surveillance cameras that will stretch along McKinney Avenue from North Pearl Street to Blackburn. While most residents believe uptown is safe, it has seen its share of break-ins, assaults and robberies over the years.
"I come out here with my girlfriends, and we leave between 1:00 a.m. and 2:00, and we would like someone watching us," said Uptown visitor Mary Coates.
Uptown will soon join Downtown Dallas and Fair Park as areas under surveillance. Although the cameras are paid for privately or with grants, Dallas police officers are the ones who monitor them.
"This system is very smartly engineered so that it's not peering into people's windows," said Jim Reagan, Uptown Improvement District. "It actually has shields to keep from invading someone's privacy."
The cameras have captured everything from public intoxication to an SUV slamming into a bicycle cop.
In 2008, Dallas police say they received 4,388 camera-involved calls and made 1,142 arrests. So far in 2009, police have received 1,889 camera calls and have made 561 arrests.
"That's a great number. If we can have a 33 percent clearance rate on calls, or even have 33 percent of out suspects identified, we're going to win the battle on crime," said Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Kevin Janse.
Police say when crimes such as theft are not caught on camera, the arrest rate falls below 10 percent.
The Uptown Improvement District said all 11 cameras should be operational by the end of the month. Currently, Dallas police are monitoring 98 cameras throughout the city.
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