BALTIMORE — In Baltimore's historic Little Italy neighborhood, a security project several years in the making is coming to life. Neighborhood leaders tell WMAR a connected network of cameras recently went up and running, and they can serve to benefit the whole city.
You can see some outside Giovanna Blatterman's Cafe Gia on busy Eastern Avenue; several dozen cameras in Little Italy are now linked on a new hub.
VIDEO: In Little Italy, connected camera network taking shape
"They were connected onto a platform which is easy to use for the police and for the neighborhood," said Lisa Regnante, president of the Little Italy Neighborhood Association.
The cameras are not monitored, the Baltimore Police Department can directly access the cameras if needed.
"We are the safest neighborhood in Baltimore City - I want to shout that out to everyone, we are. But you can never be safe enough," Blatterman told WMAR.
Neighborhood leaders point to Little Italy's geography within Baltimore as a major reason the cameras will help.
"Our intersections on all four sides of our neighborhood are gateways," Regnante explained. "And so when we have a camera system, it catches and monitors both things that happen in Little Italy and things that come through Little Italy. And that's really important."
State grant funding made the security system possible, and Regnante and Blatterman credited efforts by Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-46).
The cameras, Regnante said, aren't all.
"We were able to use the money for lighting the streets with this beautiful cafe lighting that makes the street safer, and it also looks fantastic," Regnante elaborated.
Leaders also await the chance to add wayfinding and wrought iron gating for the neighborhood's alleys.
"Now we have a system we’re really proud of," Regnante added, "hopefully we can share the information with other neighborhood groups so they can do the same.
