HOUSTON – A Houston city council member said she’s taking steps to address concerns about public safety in her district, which includes areas of Alief and Westchase.
Council Member Tiffany D. Thomas said roughly $110,000 will go towards the installation of 40 cameras that can capture license plates and other vehicle details.
Her office said the cameras are designed to send real-time alerts to assist in criminal investigations.
“Police have already been utilizing this technology throughout the city, they’ve been monitoring this,” said Thomas, who represents District F. “The additional cameras will then allow them more resources in order to combat crime in the area.”
Thomas said the changes are in response to general concerns about crime, not one specific incident. She said the cameras will compliment the mayor’s One Safe Houston plan.
The council member also committed to funding up to 100 street lights in areas of complete darkness.
“I think the lights will make a difference,” said Atkin Wilridge, a Houston resident. “Increased visibility, give people the sense of safety when they’re moving about the community at night.”
KPRC 2 spoke with people at a park in District F about the plans, including the cameras.
“It’s a good political initiative but is it going to be effective? I don’t know,” Wilridge said.
“I feel like whatever it is to try to keep our streets safe, we need to do it,” said Nathan Eaton, a Houston resident.
The council member said the locations for those cameras haven’t been decided yet but she hopes to have them installed by the summer.
Thomas is expected to discuss the plans at a town hall meeting with the community and police chief scheduled for June 22.