The city of Lawrence has invested in an expansive surveillance system to help reduce crime, with more than 100 cameras strategically placed throughout the city. "This is just another step in modernizing crime fighting," said Mayor Dan Rivera. "It's always good to be smarter than the bad guys and faster than the bad guys, and this equipment really does bring us a step closer to being smarter and faster than them."Camera locations are based on crime statistics and some can be moved when needed. Video from the cameras is fed to a surveillance hub at the Lawrence Police Department."Obviously, we want to make the residents feel safer in Lawrence," said Lawrence Police Chief Roy Vasque. "Obviously, we want to have the community and public coming into Lawrence every day feel safer.""This is not Big Brother looking into your bedroom or living room," Rivera said. "This is about fighting crime in the most basic places."The system, which is funded by a $300,000 investment from the city's reserve fund, is already seeing results."Just a couple of weeks ago, we had a bank robbery in which the individual eventually discarded his clothing, and we were able to backtrack using the city cameras and some private cameras to find out his identity," Vasque said.The first cameras went up in February and even more will be put in place later this summer.

The city of Lawrence has invested in an expansive surveillance system to help reduce crime, with more than 100 cameras strategically placed throughout the city.

"This is just another step in modernizing crime fighting," said Mayor Dan Rivera. "It's always good to be smarter than the bad guys and faster than the bad guys, and this equipment really does bring us a step closer to being smarter and faster than them."


Camera locations are based on crime statistics and some can be moved when needed. Video from the cameras is fed to a surveillance hub at the Lawrence Police Department.

"Obviously, we want to make the residents feel safer in Lawrence," said Lawrence Police Chief Roy Vasque. "Obviously, we want to have the community and public coming into Lawrence every day feel safer."

"This is not Big Brother looking into your bedroom or living room," Rivera said. "This is about fighting crime in the most basic places."

The system, which is funded by a $300,000 investment from the city's reserve fund, is already seeing results.

"Just a couple of weeks ago, we had a bank robbery in which the individual eventually discarded his clothing, and we were able to backtrack using the city cameras and some private cameras to find out his identity," Vasque said.

The first cameras went up in February and even more will be put in place later this summer.