Criminals should say cheese before they commit a crime in Forest Park.
State Assemblymember Mike Miller and Senator Joe Addabbo, who represents the park, allocated $250,000 for more than a dozen cameras inside the park, and received permission from the NYPD on Monday to have the devices installed within the next few months, following a string of sexual assaults in the green space.
“I think it will be extremely helpful in being a deterrent to crime,” Miller said. “If somebody thinks of doing something there, and they see the camera, they will think twice before committing a crime.”
Miller said they haven’t decided the exact locations of where the cameras will be placed in the park, but he wants to put them in entrances and areas where many people gather, such as Victory Field.
There will be a total of seven $35,000 units with two cameras on each, for a total of 14 cameras. Miller hopes installing the devices will not only be a crime deterrent, but will also help the NYPD identify suspects.
The camera solution comes after police tied one suspect, who is still at large, to six sexual assaults in and around the park, dating back to March 2011.
The latest assault occurred on August 26 of this year, when the victim, a 69-year-old woman jogging through the park, was approached by the suspect, who tasered and pushed her to the ground before raping her, police said.
“If there is an issue going on in Forest Park I felt putting a camera in there would bring security in the area,” Miller said. “If we can protect one person then we have done our job.”
RECOMMENDED STORIES
