Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake takes part in the installation of one of 12 new cameras along Pennsylvania Avenue. Photo courtesy Mark Dennis
BALTIMORE — As a part of its efforts to reduce violent crime, this city will expand its CitiWatch video surveillance program with the help of federal and state grants.
The city will install 12 cameras along Pennsylvania Avenue, Government Computer News reports. The addition brings the total number of cameras in the CitiWatch program to 538. A Federal Justice Assistance Block Grant and the One Maryland Broadband grant, administered by the state's Howard County, will fund the new cameras.
Started in 2004, the CitiWatch program costs roughly $1.3 million annually, including maintenance and monitoring costs, Government Technology reports. A group of retired and off-duty police officers will monitor the camera feeds 24 hours a day.
In 2010, the program assisted in the arrests of more than 1,282 suspects. Of those arrests, 125 were for violent crimes, including robberies and assaults.
The city plans to add 30 more cameras along major streets in the future.
Source: Government Computer News
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