A week after a double shooting on Georgia State University’s campus, the school is partnering with Atlanta police to better protect the campus by linking its outdoor cameras with the city police department’s system.
The partnership announced Tuesday, allows Atlanta police officers to monitor video footage from 253 campus cameras. It also provides an extra layer of security for students, faculty and staff, said Atlanta police Chief George Turner.
“We believe these cameras can deter crime, help our investigators solve crimes and speed our response to emergency incidents in the areas around campus,” Turner said.
Georgia State has been plagued recently by a series of notable crimes on campus and nearby, including several armed robberies of students inside the university's library. Last week's double shooting, involving a Georgia State student, occurred in the parking lot of a dormitory and involved a suspected drug deal.
The university's police chief, Connie Sampson was demoted last week following the parking lot shooting and replaced with the department's deputy chief while a search is conducted for a new top cop. University President Mark Becker pledged to improve the way the school notifies students and employees of situations on campus.
With the new partnership, the Georgia State cameras will be part of the Atlanta police's "Operation Shield" network of more than 6,000 cameras across the city that are already operational and continuously monitored. Cameras owned by the Georgia Aquarium, Georgia World Congress Center, World of Coca-Cola, CNN Center, AmericasMart, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and the Center for Disease Control are also included in the network and monitored at one central location by the police department.
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