By Bryan Price and Nick Stutzman
BengalNews Reporters
Increased
crime on the West Side has forced the Buffalo Police department to determine if
new camera surveillance will help keep the area safe.
The City of Buffalo will be putting
up three cameras on the West Side and four others will be placed elsewhere in
the city.
According to Anthony Barba, chief
of Buffalo Police for the D District, determining the most important locations
for each camera is vital because the cameras are $25,000 each.
Barba said that the department has
been getting complaints from the public that more cameras need to be in
place.
“We have to
look at crime stats and the complaints from citizens to determine where these
cameras should be put up,” Barba said. “Reported crime has spiked in this area,
so we need to weigh all factors from analytics to the cost.”
The D
District has been trying to cut back
on crime in surrounding neighborhoods as an . extra witness in crimes across the City of Buffalo. This will add to the current
cameras Mayor Byron Brown has installed across the city, mainly on street
corners, that have helped catch suspects and determine outcomes of crimes.
Along with the Buffalo Police, the
West Side Youth Development Coalition is helping to get information out to the
community about these cameras. According to Jon Lindner, project coordinator with the coalition, his department
receives information via the police, alerts his crime prevention coalition and
sub-committees, which then get information out via social media.
