Surveillance cameras, alley lighting to continue with Potawatomi grant
The grant will help continued funding for surveillance cameras monitoring business and residential areas.
Alderman Bob Donovan will host a news conference on Thursday, January 19 to accept a generous grant from the Forest County Potawatomi Foundation to Operation Impact that will allow continued public safety and crime-fighting measures across a large portion of the near south side.
The news conference will be at 11 a.m. on Thursday in the gymnasium at Christ-St. Peter Lutheran School, 2229 W. Greenfield Ave. Alderman Donovan will be joined by Potawatomi representatives, as well as Milwaukee Police Department reps and members of the Operation Impact board of directors.
“I am appreciative and pleased by the continued generous support from the Potawatomi, and this grant will be put to good use by Operation Impact almost immediately,” he said. “It (grant) illustrates the strength of public-private partnerships and how they can improve the quality of life in areas that have had some challenges in recent years.”
Over the years Operation Impact has funded surveillance cameras, alley lighting, a mobile neighborhood nuisance abatement vehicle, and additional MPD bicycle and foot patrol officers. The Operation Impact target area is bounded by the Menomonee Valley on the north, W. Lincoln Ave. on the south, S. 16th Street/S. Cesar Chavez Dr. on the east and S. 39th St. on the west – an area considered one of Milwaukee’s most ethnically diverse and touching two aldermanic districts.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
Surveillance cameras can be efficient ways of keeping tabs on problem areas, and can even act as a deterrent under the right circumstances. I wonder, however, about the implementation. How are the sites determined? Do property owners get to veto if they don’t want cameras pointing by their backyards? Is the footage then public record? How long is it retained? Will their be signage to denote the safety cameras, or will they be partially “hidden.” So many questions I hope will be answered.