City of Toledo to purchase and install cameras in neighborhoods

Toledo Police Department is moving ahead with plans to purchase and install a closed-circuit system and Real-Time Crime Center. ASSOCIATED PRESS Enlarge

Toledo police Chief Derrick Diggs announced at a 3 p.m. news conference that the department is moving forward with plans to purchase and install a closed-circuit camera system and Real-Time Crime Center.

The department estimates the initial investment will cost about $1.2 million, which will come from the Law Enforcement Trust Fund, said city spokesman Jen Sorgenfrei.

The money includes about 75 cameras — marked and unmarked — some of which will be able to recognize the sound of a gunshot.

When a gun is fired, the camera will be able to refocus to the area where the sound originated within one second, Ms. Sorgenfrei said.

The cost also includes two trailers, security software, and monitoring equipment.

The locations of the cameras has not yet been determined.

Chris Link, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio said the cameras “put everybody under the camera regardless of guilt or innocence.”

“It’s Big Brother 24/7,” she added.

Toledo police say they have studied the cameras in other places, including a similar set up in Memphis, Tenn., whose department has reportedly seen a 30 percent reduction in serious crime.

“Our department must continue to advance technologically in order to assist the citizens we serve,” Chief Diggs said. “That said, these aids are meant to assist our officers, not replace them and we must continue to build our manpower for the protection of the community and enforcement of Toledo’s laws.”