Greenville County Council unanimously approved an ordinance that will help residents and visitors of downtown Greenville sleep a little easier at night and enjoy their visit a little more.
At a City Council meeting Monday night, council approved the use of $10,000 in seized assets to purchase and place a new surveillance camera that they hope will allow police to keep an eye out for criminal activity.
Greenville police say the surveillance cameras in downtown Greenville have been instrumental in helping them catch criminals and the goal of adding a new one is expected to do the same.
Lt. Joe Browning with the Greenville police department says, "Having those cameras there makes some folks think twice before they knock out a window."
Most recently the surveillance cameras in downtown Greenville were key in catching the suspects who investigators say vandalized a brick statue on Main Street.
Lt. Browning says, "We had a new statue installed just below the Greenville news and some individuals decided to vandalize that statue by removing the head. We were able to go back and get video footage of the actual crime, the vehicle they were driving and it didn't take us long to solve it after that."
The new camera is going to be placed in the courtyard next to the Marriott and Greenville City Hall. Lieutenant browning says there hasn't been a lot of criminal activity in this area but the camera will act as more of a deterrent to keep criminals away.
In a seperate vote, City Council members unanimously approved an ordinance that provided additional officer training for Greenville police. The use of $100,000 in seized assets was allowed in passing the ordinance.
"You want to get the best officer you can out there and utilizing the latest tools and information that is available on the street,” says Browning.
$110,000 in seized funds, which is money received as part of criminal investigations is used to go back into law enforcement efforts, such as officer training and this proposed surveillance camera.
Lieutenant Browning says the new camera will be up in a matter of weeks and officers will be signed up for classes as soon as they get the 2011 schedule.
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