Shreveport to Potentially Require High-End Security Systems in Liquor Stores

Restaurants and stores that sell liquor are suffering from theft in Shreveport, Louisiana. In response, a city councilman is now pushing an amendment that requires restaurants and stores that sell liquor to obtain state-of-the-art surveillance systems before they acquire a liquor license.

• By Kaitlyn DeHaven
• Jun 27, 2019

Shreveport City Councilman John Nickelson has suggested that restaurants and stores in Shreveport should have to install state-of-the-art surveillance systems before they obtain their liquor license. The amendment would require the restaurants and stores’ security systems to have 4K camera resolution and a 30-day memory.

On Tuesday, city council members approved the first reading of the amendment.

Nickelson told KEEL 101.7FM and 710AM that he thinks businesses in Shreveport selling liquor will be in support of the amendment.

“I would think that businesses selling alcohol in Shreveport would want security cameras for their own safety,” Nickelson said. “Having this requirement will give police an important tool to fight crime and it will deter crime, so I hope the city council will give it serious consideration.”

Shreveport City Councilwoman Levette Fuller however, believes that the plan “is overreach.”

“We have the emotional correlation of alcohol and crime, but the data does not fully support that to the point where government should be overreaching and saying, ‘You need to spend this money on this stuff so we can feel better about crime,’ when we’re not doing anything on our end to help that situation.”

Nickelson said the final version of the proposal will be changed for businesses that already have security cameras, and would be grandfathered in if their system has a high-definition resolution of at least 1080p.