Some new eyes in the sky coming to downtown Fort Frances.
The town has received approval of a provincial grant to install new close circuit television cameras.
OPP see it helping with their work in the area.
The town’s Information Technology Manager Jeremy Hughes says the cameras will be placed in areas identified by police.
“Areas that we are referencing with camera installation locations were specifically identified by the OPP through empirical measures that analyze the density of calls relative to the surrounding area,” says Hughes.
Map showing coverage area of new close circuit television cameras proposed for downtown Fort Frances.
In the grant application, OPP noted 45 per cent of all calls for service in 2020 were in the downtown core, an increase of 40 per cent from the number in 2018 and 2019.
They expect the number to increase further once pandemic measures are lifted.
With the cameras, police feel they will aid in decreasing incidents of violent, gun and gang-related crime, enhancing OPP investigations and reducing the amount of time now spent on identifying witnesses and suspects.
The cameras could be in place by next fall. They would complement those already in place.
The total cost is estimated at $340-thousand dollars with the grant covering half of that.
It’s being recommended council cover the balance through $148-thousand out of reserves and the rest with in-kind services.
