A group of Detroit Shoreway residents are launching a campaign to install dozens of security cameras in the neighborhood in an effort to curb crime.
The cameras would be installed in a 40-block stretch beginning with the southwest part of the neighborhood as the first priority. The southeast area of the neighborhood would follow with cameras installed in the northern section last.
“Our efforts are really geared toward helping law enforcement, helping the prosecution, but also giving people a little bit of peace of mind," said Jeremy Taylor of the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization.
The development organization is helping with the campaign, which started after Taylor said residents showed interest in more cameras in a community survey. The goal is to raise $100,000 which would cover at least 60 cameras and the maintenance of them.
“We shot for the stars," added Taylor. "We’d be happy getting a couple cameras at a couple different key intersections in the neighborhood.”
"I'm 50/50 on it," said John McGovern who travels through the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood on this week multiple times a week. “$100,000 seems like a lot of money. I hope they start really small, track it, record it, take data on it.”
“I would have to raise the issue of the balance between safety and personal integrity and privacy," said Larry Crell, a Detroit Shoreway resident. "At what point are we crossing one line to the other? Who would be responsible for maintaining the appropriate balance those two extremes?"
Taylor said the campaign is only in its beginning phases but added that cameras would be installed in homes, churches and businesses. They would not be monitored daily. Rather, the development organization, Cleveland police and camera contractors would be the only people allowed to view any footage. And that would be permitted only after there is a police report.
"We want to make sure everyone in the community is safe and feels safe and feels empowered to get involved in the community," Taylor said.
A spokeswoman for Cudell Improvement, Inc., a neighborhood organization serving the Cudell and Edgewater neighborhoods, said there have been about 100 security cameras installed in their area in the last six years using private money. The cost was roughly $100,000.
Ohio City has 20 privately-funded security cameras installed, with plans to double that number in the near future.
Find more information on Detroit Shoreway's campaign here.
A fundraiser will be held Wednesday, October 19th at Banter Beer & Wine on Detroit Ave. beginning at 5:30 pm.
