TOWSON, Md. — There's a new effort to fight crime in downtown Towson.
The Towson Chamber of Commerce has received a state grant to help put cameras on every building in the town's business district.
"We have a wonderful police department here in Towson. We work very, very closely with [them], but they can’t be everywhere at all times," said Nancy Hafford, the Executive Director of the Towson Chamber of Commerce.
Hafford said the grant is a total $66,000.
She said about 65 percent of the buildings in the business district currently have cameras.
Hafford hopes that number gets to 100 percent by the end of the year.
“If we send a message to people that come here and break the law, you do the crime, you’ll do the time, so this isn’t where you want to do something [and] cause a problem," she said.
Melody Wagner, owner of Charles Village Pub in Towson, said the camera program is a great idea.
“Police do a great job and this will be a tool that they can use, and if anyone wants to partake in any shenanigans, I wouldn’t do it in Towson, because you’re going to be on camera," Wagner said.
Towson University freshman Alex Carmichael agrees.
“Stuff has happened and there is no footage, so there would actually be proof," Carmichael said.
However, Ava Dembrosky, who is also a freshman at the college, questions if it will help.
“Cameras, to me, I barely notice, so that can be the same with anyone else," she said.
Hafford said businesses, as well as office and residential buildings, will have to keep the camera for two years.
They’ll also have to keep the recordings for 30 days.
Last week three teenagers were arrested for a carjacking in parking garage of the Towson Town Center Mall.
In February, there was also a fight inside the mall that injured two officers and a security guard.
In January, a Towson University student was shot and killed.
