BOBBY ARDOIN Editor/Consulting Writer
Crime suspect apprehension should become faster, smarter and more visible after the Opelousas Police Department begins using a $149,000 Interstate-49 license plate surveillance camera system funded by the Central St. Landry Economic District.
Members of the District voted unanimously Thursday morning to fund a series of solar-powered camera pods placed on light poles on the north and south sides of I-49 between U.S. 190 and the Guilbeau Road exit.
The expenditure also includes three additional artificial intelligence cameras and a pair of smaller cameras that will be placed at other high crime locations inside the city limits, said Police Chief Graig LeBlanc.
A final decision on where the cameras will be positioned has not been determined, but assistant chief Mark Guidry said the lens system along I-49 will be focused on areas that possess the greatest traffic volumes, such as the Cresswell Lane intersection and possibly one near the Love’s Truck Stop.
“We plan to have the cameras strategically placed. However all these cameras have proven to be mobile, and can be set up anywhere. We can move them around as needed,” said Guidry.
Guidry added that the cameras, which are designed to read license plates, could prove to be invaluable in solving inter-parish crime. Guidry said many criminals have sufficient vehicle access and are active in moving around the Acadiana-area.
The cameras will also be intertwined with other parish, state and federal law enforcement agencies’ data bases and allow officers to locate in real time vehicles that are suspected to have been used in previous crimes.
LeBlanc said most of the surveillance camera use will be performed by younger officers who are familiar with the type of technology needed.
The expenditure by the district will also include a three-year maintenance contract, warranty and support network with Motorola Corporation, which manufactures the cameras, said Craig Noel, CEO of American Integration Contractors.
Noel told the Commission that there is a chance of creating a private-public partnership for additional cameras, since businesses along I-49 are interested in the crime prevention potential of the installation.
Once the cameras are installed, LeBlanc said information involving crimes will become more quickly available for law enforcement.
“The key to gathering this information is what is needed during the first 48 hours of a crime. Having these cameras sends a message that will help make quicker arrests and we will have better evidence to back the arrest up,” LeBlanc said.
“Having these real-time cameras is the key. Now as soon as a crime happens, we have an advantage. We are going to have the license plate and vehicle descriptions,” said LeBlanc.
LeBlanc added the cameras along I-49 should be especially helpful since many crime suspects travel between Opelousas and Lafayette.
