Raleigh hopes more security cameras across city parks will prevent crime
Dozens of new security cameras are coming to parks across Raleigh.
The city of Raleigh approved a contract Tuesday afternoon to add or upgrade 86 cameras in seven parks to make them safer.
The city has been installing the cameras for over a decade. The focus is on high-traffic spots such as parking lots and community centers in these parks:
- Peach Road Park
- Powell Drive Park
- Eastgate Park
- Durant Nature Preserve
- John Chavis Park
- Walnut Creek Wetland Center
- Sanderford Road Park
But even as the parks department stays on top of security, officials acknowledge with this much land, there will be gaps in the coverage.
According to Parks Director Stephen Bentley, the city is also adding panic buttons at park office front desks.
"The public is a tool, our volunteers are a tool, and technology is a tool, as part of our security measures in our park system," Bentley said. "We have deployed cameras for over a decade, so now we’re going back in and bolstering other measures."
It’s a system that was tested on Monday, when a woman was assaulted on the East Fork Mine Creek Trail. Someone called it in and police made an arrest.
One section of greenway, like most trails in the city, has no camera coverage, something that’s unlikely to change with the sheer scale of Raleigh’s parks.
"It's pretty hard, because we have 10,000 acres, and 120 miles of greenways," Bentley said.
So how do people in the city feel about this?
Some really want more cameras, to serve as a way to deter crime. Others are concerned about invasions of privacy.
Raleigh has more than 200 parks.
