Surveillance Cameras Get Green Light in Downtown Austin

A controversial proposal to put up to 20 security cameras throughout downtown Austin is getting the go-ahead from the Downtown Austin Alliance.

The Austin Police Department is working with Alliance board members and hopes to have the cameras up and running by the end of the summer.  The cameras cost about $13,000 each and the Alliance has approved the funds to purchase them.

While the details are still being worked out, the cameras would be placed in areas that see higher rates of crime, including around Sixth Street.

In addition to placing cameras downtown, federal money will likely be used to mount cameras in the area of Rundberg Lane and I-35, if approved by the city council.  A grant of $350,000 has already been secured by police.

Debbie Russell, president of the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, is among those who say the cameras chip away at individual privacy. "We think it is a waste of resources and that they don't do anything to prevent crime," she said.  But police officials defend the cameras, saying they can be useful when officers aren't on patrol in certain areas.