FORT WORTH, Texas -- Fort Worth police are pushing forward with an aggressive plan to target criminal hot spots in densely populated areas by using real-time, 24/7 video monitoring.
Close to two dozen cameras are being installed in the Stop Six neighborhood on East Rosedale Street, a part of town long associated with drugs, shootings and blight.
"It's going to help us have more eyes in specific areas," says Ofc. Daniel Segura.
Segura wouldn't disclose exactly where the cameras are being placed but emphasized the units are mobile and monitored around-the-clock by the department's Real Time Crime Center, or RTCC.
"They are 24/7 helping us follow leads, follow suspicious activity and help the community," said Segura.
The cameras aren't necessarily hidden, but instead attach to light or power poles some 20 to 30 feet high. There is one perched near a busy convenience store and apartment complex next to Rosedale Park.
Earlier this year, Fort Worth City Council allotted more than $900,000 for the surveillance cameras.
In early July, Chief Joel Fitzgerald said he hoped to eventually have close to 200 up and running citywide, according to an article from WFAA's media partner the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
On Las Vegas Trail and Lancaster Avenue, two areas of town that also are traditional trouble spots for officers, WFAA found cameras already posted.
But perhaps the most obvious location is in the city's trendy West 7th area, where at least six cameras were easy to find earlier this week.
A recent WFAA profile of the area showcased the ongoing efforts police are using to control thousands of patrons that visit dozens of bars there every weekend.
Back on Rosedale, where there is already a $2.5 million revitalization effort underway, the surveillance program is getting a warm reception.
Wanda George says she often fears for her safety running a small BBQ restaurant late into the night.
"I'll be here at night by myself sometimes," she says. "We've been robbed."
The grandmother of three said if police rotate and move the cameras from spot-to-spot, it may help deter criminals.
"If they know they're being watched, especially live," she said.
Segura said only a small, select group in the department are able to monitor the feed.
"We have to be very careful about who has access to these cameras. Only command staff and specific personnel," he said.
On Thursday, a city press conference is planned to highlight the cameras' placement in Stop Six.