Atlanta police hope a sophisticated video monitoring system will make shopping in Buckhead safer, officials say.
To help reduce crime and make shoppers safer, the Atlanta Police Department and the Atlanta Police Foundation partnered with Simon, a real estate ownership, management and development company, to add 235 video cameras to Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza.
Atlanta Police Chief George Turner said the partnership will boost proactive crime fighting efforts in Buckhead.
“The additional cameras will help our officers to do more than just monitor crime but will also aid in capturing video evidence to help solve crimes faster,” Turner said.
Robin Suggs, the general manager for Lenox Square, said Simon works with local law enforcement to coordinate focused efforts around their security program.
Suggs said Simon welcomes the opportunity to provide the entire community with heightened measures through the Operation Shield program, which was created in 2007 to improve crime prevention.
“Thanks to our collaborative relationship with the Atlanta Police Department, we now have enhanced safety and security around our properties with the Operation Shield initiative,” Suggs said.
Since the program’s start, the Atlanta Police Department and the Atlanta Police Foundation have partnered with several organizations including the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta Public Schools and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to improve public safety through camera integration.
More than 5,600 public and private-sector cameras are connected to the Loudermilk Operation Shield Video Integration Center. In the next two years, the goal is to integrate 10,000 cameras throughout the city.
“Cameras such as these are increasingly responsible for arrests that otherwise wouldn’t be made,” Councilman Howard Shook said. “I applaud Simon for their civic-mindedness and hope others follow suit.”
The Atlanta Police Foundation leads the Operation Shield initiative. For more information on how to get involved or integrate cameras, please contact the Atlanta Police Foundation’s Programs Manager Marlon Trone at mtrone@atlantapolicefoundation.org