NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – City streets are getting safer.
“Things that used to happen on any given corner are no longer happening on that corner,” says Melanie Talia, the CEO of the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation.
Talia says the “Adopt-A-Block” program is working.
The seven-month-old program is an extension of SafeCam NOLA the NOPD’s initiative to enlist the communities help.
But what about ProjectNOLA? (A citizen based crime prevention camera system.) Where does that fit in?
“If you want a camera and you want someone other than you to monitor it, then you should have that option,” says Talia.
Talia wants both systems to work together and in partnership and doesn’t support one system over the other and says installing a surveillance camera on your home or business is totally worth it.
The NOPD and the Police and Justice Foundation received a $15,000 grant Thursday from the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors that will fund an additional 34 security cameras across the city, in addition to the 70 cameras that are already up and running.
“Number one is we want the community to participate in the process of making New Orleans a safer place to live and work and visit and we want the community to partner with the NOPD,” says Talia.
The difference is this: SafeCam NOLA does not offer 24-hour live surveillance, whereas ProjectNOLA does offer live monitoring.
Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what works best and what you feel most comfortable with.