Home surveillance system proposal for Troy

Updated: 02/16/2015 5:50 PM Created: 02/16/2015 4:41 PM WNYT.com By: Kumi Tucker

TROY - A local lawmaker wants to help residents put in home security systems in North Troy. He also wants those cameras to help police. We found a number of cameras outside a woman's home in North Troy. She did not want to be identified.

"I have two vacant homes next to me that should be demolished and nobody's taking care of them. As you can see there's snow banks galore out there, I get very worried about that. At night I can't sleep," she said.

The Lansingburgh neighborhood has been plagued by a series of arsons recently; fires have been set near vacant homes, garages and garbage piles.

City Councilman Jim Gordon is proposing that homeowners be able to apply for grants to pay for the sometimes expensive private home security systems.

The North Troy resident with cameras supports that proposal. "I think that it's an awesome idea, especially up here in Lansingburgh. We've had a lot of fires up here, a lot of houses going up in flames, a lot of people stealing from the people who have left."

Gordon also want to create a registry, on a strictly voluntary basis, so police can know right away where they may be able to go for video that may help their investigation.

"In an event like a crime, whether it's a larceny, arsons like we've been experiencing, and some of the serious crimes, shootings, etc., the element of time is key and our detectives spend a lot of time canvassing neighborhoods looking for camera systems," said Gordon.

He says the city has a number of public cameras, but not one on every block.

He wants the registry to act as a deterrent.

Read this article:
Home surveillance system proposal for Troy