Cops Get Cameras
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
The Opelousas Police Department is preparing to link into real time crime center data bases, after receiving about $150,000 from the Downtown Development District for downtown surveillance cameras placed at strategic sites.
Officer Mark Guidry told ODD members recently that the department intends to use the new cameras as crime deterrents on Vine, Landry, Heather, Union, Cresswell and Louisiana Avenue, which will help establish a more efficient surveillance network in high traffic volume areas.
Guidry said the new surveillance cameras will not be used for speed enforcement.
Although the projected city budget anticipates receiving about $700,000 this year from speed-related citations, Guidry said the cameras that are being provided by ODD will be restricted for crime prevention.
“These cameras are going to be set up in other places and allow the department to witness crimes as they are happening. We will also be able to watch areas and perhaps see something that occurs before it is going to happen,” Guidry said.
Once the equipment is installed throughout the nine sites, Guidry said the information obtained from the cameras can be provided to national crime centers.
Often Guidry pointed out, Opelousas police will receive inquiries from departments in other states, asking for information on potential suspects that are wanted in order jurisdictions.
The cameras will be installed on Union and Vine streets, which are part of a federal highway system, in addition to Main and Landry, Guidry added.
Also the intersection of Union and Cresswell will receive cameras as well as La. 182 as that roadway joins Martin Luther King Drive, according to Guidry.
Guidry explained that OPD began its surveillance camera project in 2023 following an initial agreement with the Opelousas Housing Authority.
The OHA, Guidry said, now has cameras at 41 sites, giving the city more than 100.
Statistics show, said Guidry, that after placing surveillance cameras at locations near and inside the Ina Claire Drive housing project, crime in that area has been greatly reduced.
“Since we put the cameras up on Ina Clarie, we have not had a major crime there that has not been solved. In 2022, Guidry noted, the Ina Claire projects had four major crimes. In 2023 after the camera system was activated there, there were no major crimes. In 2024, there was one crime, said Guidry.
About two years ago the department made a similar presentation to the Central St. Landry Economic Development District and received about $149,000 from the District in order to pay for a grant that allowed the department to place surveillance cameras at the Guilbeau Road and I-49 exit.
The cameras at the interstate junction have enabled the department to monitor suspects that are leaving Opelousas and moving into other jurisdictions in addition to locating those who may have committed crimes in Lafayette Parish and traveled to Opelousas, Guidry said.
Like the I-49 cameras, the downtown areas and those pn Creswell and Heather will be able to read license plates of vehicles, Guidry mentioned.
