Windsor is pushing ahead with one of the mayor’s campaign pledges to install more surveillance systems in the downtown core.
The city received $4.3 million in one-time federal gas-tax money and decided to spend $450,000 of that to upgrade some cameras from analog to digital.
"We also want to install new cameras starting in the downtown core to provide some coverage in areas where we don't have it,” says Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens. “So police will be sitting down with traffic engineering to figure out where the best places are, and we'll move forward and do some installations."
Dilkens tells CTV Windsor the cameras will be linked to the police communication centre, allowing the dispatcher to see what the scene looks like before dispatching officers.
He hopes it will make policing more effective and efficient.
Dilkens says the city is also exploring the idea of getting residents on board with a new voluntary surveillance network called the “Neighbours App."
The proprietary system made by Ring Incorporated would link home surveillance systems into a police database.
If a crime happens in a given neighbourhood, police would request access from residents in the 'Ring Network' to tap into their surveillance system.
This means officers wouldn't have to go door-to-door looking for possible video.
Dilkens says the idea is in the very initial stages.
Windsor would be the first city in Canada to sign up to the network, but if used, Dilkens believes it could save police valuable time while enhancing community safety.
