Officials in a South Jersey city are looking to find a way to help combat crime, and are reaching out to places of worship in the process.

Salem City created a program called “All Eyes On Me,” an initiative that looks to use surveillance cameras to help thwart crimes in certain areas of the city.

Salem City Mayor Charles Washington Jr. said Stand Up for Salem, a non-profit organization that has a focus on the revitalization of the city, donated $10,000 to buy the cameras. The city will then distribute the cameras to residents who would like to volunteer for the program. Residents will only be responsible for the power supply. The wi-fi signal from the cameras will be sent back to the Salem Police Department, which will be able to see live footage of areas that are under surveillance.

The Salem mayor cited the 2009 NOLA project in New Orleans, a surveillance program implemented at the University of New Orleans, and the success the program had with reducing crime with the use of cameras.

“We are doing something along those same lines, but financially doable for us, recognizing budget does not take precedence over the lives and welfare of our constituents and the private life that they live in,” Washington Jr. said.

The Salem City mayor said the city ran a pilot for the initiative a month and a half ago in a section of the city. As a result, the test area has seen a reduction in crime. Washington Jr. said that so far, residents have been receptive to the idea and he hopes that this will bring the residents together to make the city safer.

“It is my hope that we in the community come together and say that we have had enough of being bullied,” Washington Jr. said. “We have had enough of being threatened and being held hostage in our own home, and we in the community will work together to force the bad elements out of our community. If enough people galvanize around that thought, then it will become uncomfortable for those who are doing anything than being upstanding citizens in our community.”

Chris Franklin can be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cfranklinnews or on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.

Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.