The city's response toSaturday night's violencein downtown Louisville now includes increased surveillance of Waterfront Park with 24 new security cameras. Mayor Greg Fischer announced the cameras on Wednesday. The cameras and installation, including the required fiber network, will cost about $227,000.The first part of the camera expansion at the park will up working by Thunder Over Louisville on April 12, when hundreds of thousands of people will be at Waterfront Park.The mayor's office said the cameras will allow police to watch what's happening at the Waterfront Park and the Big Four Bridge, and to "anticipate issues in real time."“Cameras alone won’t prevent crime—but they will help," Fischer said in a news release.Louisville Metro Police will do a review ordered by Fischer to figure out where cameras should be to be effective.The city said: They will be installed in strategic locations to ensure the widest possible coverage, including at parking lots, playground areas, the Big Four Bridge, and all large open grassy areas.Police, MetroSafe and the Downtown Partnership will also see if there are ways to connect cameras used by private businesses in downtown.Also, the Downtown Partnership is looking into buying cameras in bulk. The move would pass the savings on to downtown business that want to install cameras and hook them up to the city's network, interim partnership director Rebecca Matheny said in a news release.Police are also increasing patrols including horseback and bike, and the Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods initiative is working with community/religious groups to reach out to young people. We've thrown more questions about this to the city and will let you know when they respond.Update 5:15 p.m.: CamerasLouisville has about 54 security cameras currently operating in downtown Louisville, a spokesman for the mayor said. They'll have to install the infrastructure to support the new cameras.A question about privacy concerns was not addressed.(Image via Shutterstock)
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