CINCINNATI -- Pleasant Ridge officials may install security cameras at one of the neighborhood’s intersections in an effort to curb criminal activity.
Neighborhood officials may put up cameras at the intersection of Lawndale Avenue and Montgomery Road, which has been the site of “drug dealing and other unwelcome antisocial activities,” Bill Frost, Pleasant Ridge community council president, said in a newsletter.
There were 22 crime-related incidents last year near the intersection, and nine of them were theft, according to the Cincinnati Police Department’s crime data portal.
“It’s kind of one of the last places where we’ve got antisocial behavior going on, and we just decided that you know it’s about time we gave the love down here we’ve given to the rest of the community,” Frost said.
The surveillance system costs about $6,500. Local businesses have offered to pitch in, Frost said, and the community council is encouraging residents to donate.
“It’s a great place to live, and we’re just trying to make it better,” Frost said.
The neighborhood’s business district has had security cameras for three years, and Frost said those security measures have helped Cincinnati police solve several crimes in the area. He hopes adding cameras at the intersection will yield the same result.
No one knows the impact of security cameras quite like Lawanda Benton.
Benton has worked in the business district at Hair It Is salon for over 20 years.
“It’s always feels safe, and the clients feel safe going in and out -- even at night time, early in the morning,” Benton said.
Benton sees benefits in adding more cameras in the community.
“If people know that they’re getting watched, they won’t come over, so of course we feel more safe,” Benton said.
Click hereto donate toward the new security cameras.
