‘It’s a positive impact on the community’: Charleston Police Department to install three new surveillance cameras

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – People in Charleston could soon see surveillance cameras go up thanks to a grant for the Charleston Police Department.

The Charleston City Council approved a $36,000 grant for the police department. This grant funds changes like new technology, and the police department is using it to purchase three new pole cameras.

“It’s a positive impact on the community as far as helping the police department, help them. When we can help maybe solve crime and deter crime, and getting us the information the real-time information that we need for certain cases that we’re working,” says Scott Dempsey, CPD chief.

The cameras will provide a higher quality picture, a wider angle, and a livestream that detectives will be able to watch. The cameras will be used on an as-needed basis, not 24-hour surveillance.

Some Charleston residents whose street was the scene of a shooting incident Wednesday afternoon said they didn’t think additional cameras would do much in the Charleston area.

“I grew up I rode, I went down to school down here and the crime wasn’t bad. But you can’t walk the streets safely now. You’re liable to get shot just walking down the street or mugged or whatever,” says Darrell Pickens, a Charleston resident of 72 years.

No one was hurt in the shooting incident on Wednesday, and the suspect has been arrested.

The CPD says crimes like Wednesday’s incident show the need for advancements in the department, to help get information in real-time, and deter crime from happening.

The department cannot disclose exactly where the cameras will be going, but they plan to put them up in areas with higher crime rates.

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