North Carolina Police Notice Decrease in Crime Following Installation of Surveillance Cameras

Greenville, N.C. police see a 20 percent decrease in crime thanks to previously installed surveillance cameras.

• By Sydny Shepard
• May 28, 2019

There have been plenty of studies and research to show that surveillance cameras can help to gather evidence following a crime, but many have wondered if they can act as a preventative measure against bad actors. A town in North Carolina is attributing a 20 percent drop in municipal crime to their network of surveillance cameras.

According to WNCT, Greenville has about 500 city cameras on streetlights and inside of city buildings that are monitored by the police department. Each year, the city budgets for an additional 10 cameras allowing for time to find their blind spots and fill them in efficiently. Currently, the police department has a running list of locations where they plan to install new cameras.

While the police department says the decease in crime is due to the work of the force and the surveillance cameras, they do believe that the cameras are also being helpful in gathering evidence to solve the crimes that do happen.

"They've helped us greatly when it comes to identifying a suspect seeing exactly what happened when it comes to a crash investigation they can be used in various ways and they've been a big help," Kristen Hunter, PIO of GPD said. 

Hunter said that the police department is also looking to increase lighting in certain areas around town to deter criminals.