WILL CITY OF SHREVEPORT INSTALL CRIME CAMERAS?

Best guess is a "Yes", along with a real time crime center.

Currently, East Baton Rouge Parish, Calcasieu Parish and the city of New Orleans have these law enforcement tools.

These centers use a range of technologies, including automated license plate readers, gunshot detection sensors and large numbers of cameras that feed into multiple TV screens in a centralized facility.

Using live access to view camera feeds, crime center personnel alert police and other public safety agencies to crimes that have taken place and to assist in finding persons of interests in crimes.

Local residents and businesses can register their security cameras with the crime center to increase police effectiveness.

Crime centers can also be tied into the 911 dispatch system so direct personal to locations of report criminal activity,

The number of cameras and the size of the crime center is a function of money. And guess what? Shreveport is slated to get $24 million dollars plus in May as the first tranche of the American Rescue Plan funding.

Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins, Council members Tabitha Taylor and Grayson Boucher along with Chief Technology Officer Keith Hanson visited the NOLA and Baton Rouge real time crime centers last week.

One can expect a briefing by Mayor Perkins at tomorrow's council meeting with additional comments from Boucher and Taylor.

Shreveport's violent crimes, especially shootings, have greatly escalated this year. One can expect strong public sentiment for the establishment of a real time crime center here this year.