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New London police will install citywide surveillance cameras on streets

Security cameras
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New London police plan to install more than three dozen cameras around the city to create a surveillance system to monitor roads, busy intersections and parks.

The city council approved a $366,000 contract with Cross Camera Controls this week to install the system. The contact includes a $25,000 annual maintenance fee. The city will use a portion of its $26.2 million in federal coronavirus relief funding to pay for the wireless camera system.

The system will also store recorded video to help investigate ongoing motor vehicle accidents and other reported crimes.

It follows New London police implementing a body camera program for officers in 2020 after the city signed a five-year, $1.2 million contract with Axon for equipment, including tasers and police vehicle cameras.

Police Chief Brian Wright said the addition of cameras benefits residents and the city as a whole, increasing public safety and hopefully reducing crime rates.

Cross Camera Controls estimates that they will install 34 “pan, tilt and zoom”-capable cameras, six vandal-proof dome cameras and six license plate reader-ready cameras.

“The wireless system would be available in real time to emergency dispatchers and select department personnel as needed,” Wright told The Day of New London.

Natalie is a former news fellow with WSHU Public Radio.