Eight new high definition, vandal-resistant cameras that are each equipped with a flashing LED light and tie in with the Jackson Police Department’s Real Time Command Center will be installed in downtown Jackson thanks to First Baptist Jackson.
The church is purchasing the cameras as part of the Virtual Policing Program of the Jackson Police Department and will donate them to the city after they are installed.
ActiveSolutions, which is based in New Orleans, will pay the fee of $250 for the use of each Entergy Mississippi pole on which a cameraa is placed.
The cameras will be installed at North State Street at Mississippi Street, North State Street at College Street, North President Street at High Street (north side), North President Street at College Street, North President Street at Mississippi Street, North Street at Mississippi Street and North Street at College Street.
First Presbyterian Church also has blue light cameras nearby.
The Belhaven neighborhood has eight blue light cameras, which have been placed at the perimeter of the neighborhood, using funding provided by the Belhaven Improvement Association. The association has since been absorbed by the Greater Belhaven Foundation.
Each camera costs $6,000, said Reed Hogan, who led the Belhaven Improvement Associaton’s public safety initiative for seveal years.
The Belhaven Town Center development donated two of the cameras, including the one installed at the corner of North Jefferson and Manship streets.
The Belhaven mprovement Association raised $200,000 for the project, with Belhaven University kicking in $10,000.
Roger Parrott, Ph.D., president of Belhaven University, said the carjacking and armed robbery of Megan West and Matt Allen on Oct. 31, 2021 on St. Ann Street prompted him to offer the university’s help.
Security cameras are the most important thing that can be done to protect the neighborhood, he said. Belhaven University has 150 cameras installed across campus.
At one point, the Belhaven Improvement Association announced plans to install 25 additional security cameras but those plans were placed on hold and now the Belhaven Community Improvement District is studying the matter, said Jason Agostinelli, a member of the Greater Belhaven Foundation Board of Directors.
The city has placed two additional cameras on Fortification Street, he said.
The city of Jackson announced in September 2023 that 25 new blue light cameras would be installed across the city at a cost of $247,000.
