Alabama Public Housing Community Sees Increased Security

Security barriers and surveillance cameras are being added to a Birmingham public housing community to cut down on crime.

• By Sydny Shepard
• May 15, 2019

City leaders in Birmingham, Ala. say that crime at a public housing community has reached epidemic proportions and have devised a multi-faceted plan to cut down on the crime level using surveillance cameras and security barriers. 

Marks Village, a public housing community, previously had 19 entry/exit points. As of Monday, there are seven entry/exit points, with new concrete barriers limiting access through the other 12 points of entrance. The Birmingham Housing Authority was hoping that these roadblocks will help to cut down on the crime the community has been seeing.

Overall, 60 concrete barriers will be installed over the course of four to five days, according to the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District (HABD) CEO, Michael Lundy. 

"It will change the quality of life for residents here in Marks Village," Lundy told WBRC. Limiting entry/exit points in the community will give police a better chance of catching criminals, according to Lundy.

Another way the HABD plans on catching criminals is through the installation of surveillance cameras. These cameras support Shotspotter technology, which listens for gunshots and can report the location of the sound.