Cameras required at clubs in 2016

Published 8:59 pm Tuesday, July 21, 2015

In wake of recent violence outside Selma nightclubs, the city council passed an ordinance during last week’s meeting to require clubs and lounges to increase their security measures by installing security cameras.

The ordinance is just one of the council’s recent efforts to cut down on Selma’s crime rate and make people feel safe when they go out at night.

“This is another part of the overall crime strategy to help cub some of the crime here in Selma,” said Selma City Council President Corey Bowie. “I think it was a proactive approach between city government and the police department to move forward with it.”

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According to Bowie, clubs would have to install cameras by Feb. 1, 2016.

“All establishments shall maintain a security camera system capable of recording and retrieving video images,” the ordinance states. “This camera system must also be capable of recording and storing the video images for a length of time no less than 30 days.”

Selma Police Chief William Riley said the cameras will benefit everyone.

“It is a very good ordinance. It will definitely, in my opinion, make people feel safer when they go into these establishments, and it is only a plus for us,” Riley said.

“The greatest thing about that is now when some of these things are occurring in and around these clubs, we’ll be able to capture them on video.”

There have been several crimes over the last few months that have gone unsolved, including the murder of Taffine Berry in March outside of a lounge on Marie Foster Street.

“It helps the whole process because video and a picture speak volumes when you catch somebody in the act of doing something they are not supposed to do or committing a crime,” Riley said. “It plays such an important part in solving these crimes because with video, I’ve got you dead to rights.”

Riley said it makes a case stronger to have concrete evidence that someone fired shots or attacked someone instead of just having to rely on testimonies from witnesses.

“When you have that picture and you look at it and can identify the suspects involved in a criminal act, it takes a lot of pressure off the citizens,” Riley said. “It takes the pressure off of a victim or a witness that may be somewhat a little reluctant to testify, or it may help them.”

Riley said it also helps create a sense of safety by having cameras in place.

“It eases my mind when I go in somewhere and look up and see that they have video. I actually look, and when I see it I say I like this,” Riley said. “I know it is a place I want to go to, and I might want to bring my friends, I might want to bring my family or I might want to bring a business associate when they come to town because I know that most likely it will be a much more safer environment because if something does happen, we will have something to go back and track down the criminals.”

While required security cameras may not cut down on all crimes that are committed in clubs and lounges, Riley feels like it will help more crimes get solved.

“You and I can go anywhere, and we don’t know what another person may do or what is on their mind,” Riley said. “They may commit a crime, but at least we would know that we are in an area where if something does happen, they’ve got surveillance where we can go back and identify the people responsible.”

Bowie, who strongly backed the ordinance, said he feels like this is a step in the right direction to making downtown Selma and the rest of the city much safer and enjoyable.

“We’re moving in the right direction with the fact that we’re trying to do a lot of redevelopment downtown and we’re trying to do a lot of things on Water Avenue with the entertainment district,” Bowie said. “But the bookend of all of that is, you’ve got to be able to curb the crime because safety is paramount.”