The Chattanooga Police Department has added 14 new public safety cameras to its network, bringing the total to 29 cameras around the city focusing on violent crime and deterring acts of violence.
The CPD used community input, three years of compiled statistical crime data, qualitative intelligence, officer experience and vendor consultation to determine placement of the cameras.
The CPD Crime Analysis Unit studied the crime that’s inflicted the most social harm throughout the city, narrowed down to the densest locations by block numbers.
These locations were then provided to the CPD Neighborhood Policing Bureau to inform their observations and experiences throughout their shifts. Next, the locations were presented to community members for input regarding where the cameras should be placed.
This was the same criteria used to determine the locations of the initial 15 public safety cameras installed in June 2017.
The video from the network of public safety cameras feeds into the Real Time Intelligence Center, a centralized intelligence, technology, analysis and investigative center housed at the Police Service Center.
In the first six months of the initial camera roll-out, there were a total of 30 requests for video from officers and investigators working to solve a variety of crimes. The video obtained by these cameras played a significant role in identifying and charging suspects in homicides, shootings, a hit-and-run incident and an automobile theft.
Each public safety camera is housed in a two-foot-tall white metal box clearly marked with the CPD badge and has a blue flashing light on top. The boxes are mounted on EPB poles equipped with power and fiber optics.
The cameras are adjustable, can be angled in different directions, and are equipped with a zoom lens. They are also designed to be moved as crime trends and needs change.
The cameras are included in the CPD budget for fiscal year 2019 at $173,000. Monthly power and data are estimated to cost between $3,500 and $4,000 per month. Video is retained for 30 days unless it’s of evidentiary value.
New camera locations
- 1200 Grove St.
- 727 E. 11th St.
- 700 W. Main St.
- 700 E. 10th St.
- 1233 Poplar St. Ct.
- 2000 E. 3rd St.
- 2727 Rossville Blvd.
- 2100 McCallie Ave.
- 4500 Rossville Blvd.
- 2305 Union Ave.
- 7700 Lee Hwy.
- 3100 Wilcox Blvd.
- 4400 Kemp Dr.
- 400 S. Seminole Dr.
Source: CPD