Citing an increase in firearm-related violent crimes, the City of Savannah, the Savannah Police Department (SPD) and the Housing Authority of Savannah (HAS) have agreed to install cameras within public housing locations and throughout other parts of the city.
Using nearly a half-million-dollar grant funded by state COVID-19 response money, SPD will install 15 cameras in four HAS locations, including Frazier Homes, Kayton Homes, Yamacraw Village and River Pointe, and 38 cameras within “specific violent crime hot spots” throughout the city.
“It will be months before these cameras will be installed,” an SPD spokesperson wrote in an email on behalf of Assistant Chief Robert Gavin to the Savannah Morning News.
According to the email, SPD requested 66 cameras to go in housing and neighborhoods “where connectivity and camera coverage has not been accessible.” The timeline is reliant on equipment and contractor availability.
City of Savannah increasing camera surveillance of residents
The grant states that the cameras will help reduce crime in the city.