LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas police say the flashing lights you may have seen at intersections around the Las Vegas valley is a new tool to help keep bad guys off the streets.
They’re called public safety cameras.
“If they do see suspicious activity or crimes in progress we can get officers out there immediately,” said Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Spokesperson Larry Hadfield.
The technology has been used in the past, beginning many years ago with portable cameras that were placed in high crime areas so police could see what was going on.
But now this version is giving police an even better vantage point.
13 Action News noticed several cameras in Chinatown along Spring Mountain.
Earlier this year, Las Vegas police said they saw an increase in theft crimes in the Chinatown area and increased their presence, saying those crimes were usually going unreported.
Hadfield says having video evidence makes all the difference in ways not possible ten or twenty years ago.
“You have what looks like a person, forensic evidence, out does make for a stronger case,” says Hadfield.
