If you've been on the Westside recently, you may have noticed new cameras looking down at you. Those cameras are part of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Real-Time Crime Center.
They're currently being installed along 103rd Street. Roughly eight units containing two cameras each can be seen along 103rd Street between Ricker Road and Old Middleburg Road. One sits directly across from Mike Salameh Jr. sandwich restaurant, The Shiek.
“Kind of glad that thing is right there, we’ve been having all types of gunshots go off," Salmeh Jr. said.
The cameras can be triggered and turned on by gunfire tied to the city’s shot spotter technology.
Salameh Jr. said he is looking forward to the cameras working as a crime deterrent especially at night.
“Those lights on it, light up like a fire station, it adds light to the whole area which is very good because the more light, the less crime,” he said.
Since January of this year, the city’s shot-spotter system has detected 452 shots.
Once fully operational the cameras can also be turned on at any time.
Salameh Jr. wishes the cameras pointed more towards his business.
He said someone smashed the windows of his business with a cement block Saturday.
“It’s amazing, it’s a few that can make the whole area look bad and that’s not how it is, some of the best people I know are on this side of town," Salameh Jr. said.
He is thankful to have another set of eyes watching over his store and the community.
“The more cameras out there and people know they’re being watched the less likely they are to do the crime," Salameh Jr. said. "I think it’s a good idea that we have these cameras all around here.”
He said a few people have been questioned about his broken window, but he is glad other business owners will have the cameras watching over them in the future.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said the cameras were part of the budget for the Real-Time Crime Center and will be up and running soon.
The camera along 103rd Street are the first to be installed, but JSO said the project is ongoing and they are looking to expand to other areas.