Asbury, Iowa Installs Security Cameras Following Death of Mollie Tibbetts

Henneberry said he wants to increase video surveillance in Asbury because private security camera footage was used by investigators in the Tibbetts case.

• By Jessica Davis
• Oct 19, 2018

Asbury, Iowa, is responding to the death of an Iowan woman by increasing video surveillance in its town.

Three security cameras have been installed by the city in Asbury Road, and some cameras have been added to Asbury Park as well. In addition, the city is asking residents to install video surveillance on their properties.

Asbury Police Chief Tom Henneberry attributes part of the push for more cameras to the disappearance and death of Mollie Tibbetts in Brooklyn, Iowa. Henneberry said he wants to increase video surveillance in Asbury because private security camera footage was used by investigators in the Tibbetts case.

Henneberry said he used Dubuque, Iowa, as a model for his city’s security camera system. Dubuque has more than 1,000 traffic and security cameras, and “those cameras in there have solved everything from homicides to simple traffic accidents.”

Asbury is a safe city, Henneberry said, but he wants to be prepared should anything happen. He believes video surveillance will help Asbury officers respond to and solve crimes.

"Before police officers even show up on scene, we’re already getting information from the cameras," Henneberry said.

Law enforcement in Dubuque and Asbury will be able to use each other’s video surveillance, he added.

"Eventually our cameras will be linked with Dubuque County dispatch so they’ll even be able to jump on our camera system and give us information prior to arrival," Henneberry explained.

The three cameras installed on Asbury Road cost taxpayers about $17,000, while the video surveillance in Asbury Park cost just over $27,000. Hennebury said the city plans to add more cameras.

"We’ll be adding cameras throughout the city in spots that we can make work," he said.