Detroit Shoreway Safety Camera Initiative
Protecting the residents, businesses, and stakeholders who have made our vibrant neighborhood home.
Leader
Evan Chaloupka
Location
6516 Detroit Avenue Cleveland, OH 44102
About the project
The Detroit Shoreway Safety Camera Initiative would install safety cameras and in high crime areas. Cameras would mainly be located at street intersections. They would project a limited line of sight down these thoroughfares, but would not cover the majority of any given street. Similar programs have been implemented in other neighborhoods including Edgewater, Cudell, and Ohio City. In addition to deterring criminals, this program would provide law enforcement the evidence they need to combat the most pressing crimes in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. A network of high quality cameras does require investment on behalf of all those who call the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood home. Several community partners have already expressed their support for the program. These commitments have created momentum for a broader community fundraising effort.
Why are safety cameras a good solution?
- Cameras are a cost-effective solution that provide law enforcement the evidence they need to identify, arrest, and prosecute criminals.
- Merchants saw a 70% decrease in crime one year after implementing the Madison Avenue Camera program.
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In community meetings, block clubs, and this summer’s safety survey, many residents and community stakeholders have identified a camera program as a safety solution that they would like to see pursued.
- Camera systems have been the center of cutting edge crime policy in New York, Chicago, Memphis, and other cities.
The Steps
Cameras would be primarily be installed at intersections along the highlighted roads. There would not be a continuous line of site down any street.
Before cameras are installed, a meeting would be held for residents and stakeholders in specific locations within these larger areas. Attendees will learn the amount of funding available to them and the options they have for camera coverage.
Residents and businesses are encouraged to register private cameras with DSCDO in order to improve neighborhood coverage. The installation order was determined in light of the prevalence of crime in the neighborhood
Why we‘re doing it
This initiative grows out of ideas that residents and community stakeholders have expressed in a variety of settings: the RTA safety meeting, the DSCDO summer safety survey, the DSCDO summer safety meeting, smaller community meetings, a block club outreach tour, and one-on-one conversations with residents. This program also takes inspiration from existing community safety camera programs in Cudell, Edgewater, Ohio City, and Tremont. Resident concerns about privacy have also helped shape this idea.
Lastly, the initiative is informed by conversations with the Second District Police and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office who believe that a well-designed safety camera program would deter the crimes that residents often note they are concerned about: burglary, robbery, drug trafficking, and assault. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office is currently working with Cleveland neighborhoods to create a database with locations of all public and privately-owned safety cameras, so that law enforcement can obtain footage more quickly.
Cameras have been instrumental in recent law enforcment victories ranging from weapons and drug raids to the succcessful arrest of individuals suspected of assualt and robbery.