As the violence continues to escalate in Baltimore City including the murder of a city homicide detective in November, Mayor Pugh’s office announced on Sunday that the city will “significantly expand” certain technologies being used to fight and solve crime.
Expansions including adding 60-additional CCTV cameras to the already 750 cameras being used to monitor the city, which will be installed specifically in crime-ridden areas.
The Mayor’s office also said 25 additional mobile license plate readers will be installed in officers’ patrol cars, which is a 60% increase. They are used to identify stolen cars or vehicles of interest and can save officers valuable time. 10-additional square-miles of gunshot detection coverage will also be added, which was developed as a pilot to give real-time alerts to officers on the streets to make them aware of nearby shootings, especially useful when 911 is not called during incidents.
“Equipping our police officers with the tools they need to fight and solve crime is a critical component of our violence reduction strategy,” said Mayor Pugh. “This grant will help provide state-of-the-art equipment to our police force to ensure the safety of our city’s citizens and visitors.”
Mayor’s Pugh office says these developments are being paid through a $5 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, noting, “Efforts are currently underway to purchase the technologies and deploy them in the field, with roll-out expected to occur throughout the first half of 2018.”
Mayor Pugh has plan to fight violent crime in Baltimore details @ABC2NEWS pic.twitter.com/I7QbohZAxf
— manny locke (@realmannynation) December 3, 2017
