Indianapolis grows camera network to help curb crime
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett on Thursday announced another business has joined the b-link camera network.
It’s a network of cameras that businesses can set up allowing Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department to tap into live feeds and dispatch officers to the scene of a crime faster.
MacAllister Machinery joined more than 30 other businesses in the program. Brian Flinn, district operations manager for MacAllister Machinery, said that the cameras have helped his business with “basic traffic crimes, with high speeding where we’ve had accidents into our fence lines, that type of stuff, hit-and-runs. We’ve had people entering our property, breaking into our vehicles, stealing catalytic converters, batteries.”
Kendale Adams, an IMPD deputy chief, credits the program with helping investigators arrest a suspect charged with shooting five people in May near the downtown canal.
Adams said, “Many of you remember the Dutch commando that was killed in Indianapolis. That was an example of b-link cameras, public safety cameras, LPRs (license plate readers), and good and hard investigative work came together to result in the arrest of that person we believe was responsible.”
Flinn said crime along West Washington Street has picked up in recent years. He feels it’s time MacAllister takes a proactive rather than a reactive approach to crime.
He said, “The Subway’s having a robbery at gunpoint, theft from other restaurants and other break-ins, and Andy Mohr down the road having similar catalytic converter issues.”
The mayor’s office says $500,000 from the federal American Rescue Plan, legislation approved to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, was set aside to help fund the program. Businesses can apply for a $2,500 grant to set up the cameras. There is a monthly fee for cloud storage.
