Alderman Monsour expresses high hopes for new security cameras in reducing crime in the city

At the Board of Mayor and Alderman meeting on Friday, Alderman Alex J. Monsour, Jr. gave an update on new security cameras that will be installed around the city.

Monsour saw the NOLA cameras firsthand at the University of New Orleans with a group of interested parties including Police Chief Penny Jones.

Monsour said the cameras were “state of the art” and were equipped with facial recognition and the ability to identify paraphernalia: “You can read the pills while they are in people’s hands from about 300 feet.”

Monsour further praised the camera’s advanced capabilities in recognizing crime as it occurs stating, “It can identify murders and anyone shooting a gun.”

Beyond identification and evidence, Monsour expressed his support of the cameras as a natural deterrent. “It sends a message to the criminals,” he explained, “they need to go somewhere else.”

Noting the relative newness of the program, Monsour assured citizens of the benefits of being among the first cities to adopt and pioneer it: “It is a phenomenal tool. It will put Vicksburg on the map, and I guarantee everybody else will be trying to duplicate what we’re doing.”

“The cameras are going to make the city a very safe place and a bad place for criminals,” said Monsour.

Concerning the timeline for the implementation of these devices, Monsour stated, “16 have already been put in place.” He then elaborated that it will take a little more time to get power to them all and to bring them online as well as to install about 52 more units throughout the city for a “wide span.”

Monsour further commended Chief Jones for her contribution to pioneering this program in Vicksburg. Jones “led a neighborhood program where they bring the command center in and let the neighborhood people go in there and see what the cameras are actually doing,” Monsour explained.

Monsour ended by thanking the Board for their support for this new proactive approach to reducing crime which he called a “game changer for the city of Vicksburg.”