Safety first for Maplesville
Published 12:00 pm Thursday, July 15, 2010
The Maplesville government continues to lead its charge to make the community safer and give its citizens the reassurance they need after a recent crime wave.
The Maplesville Town Council passed a resolution Tuesday to install four surveillance cameras downtown, three exterior devices on Main Street and one inside the town hall lobby.
Wolff Pack LLC Computer Repair and Accessories will install the equipment, which owner Tom Wolff said would take 4-5 days. The system comes with a one-year warranty.
Mayor Kurt Wallace said several residents implored him and the council to pass the resolution to purchase the equipment, insisting it would make them feel safer.
At their meeting last week, Wallace expressed his reluctance to buy the cameras, citing the investment may not produce satisfactory returns. Thanks to an increased police presence in town and several arrests made in connection to recent crimes committed, area crime has slowed considerably.
Most of what the cameras will record will be passing traffic, pedestrians and quiet streets. But that does not mean they will never pay off by capturing a criminal in the act or a significant license plate in the future.
Wallace’s concerns not to overspend are logical, but credit him for putting the town’s needs and demands ahead of his own. When concerned citizens express worry over their daily safety, a mayor’s duty is to hear it and act on it. Wallace and members of the town council did just that.
Their frustrations with the sudden burst in crime did not interfere with their thinking and ability to make the right decisions to prevent more from occurring at that rate or at all.
We hope the Maplesville streets continue to stay calm, and we commend the town for listening to its residents and putting ideas into motion.