LAUREL, Del. — Laurel police are proposing the installation of eight new security cameras around the town in an effort to reduce crime and improve their operations.
Police Chief Robert Kracyla said Laurel received a $120,000 safety grant from the state of Delaware to install a network of security cameras. Kracyla said the eight cameras will be placed in the areas they respond to the most.
"We've been able to identify strategic areas that had the highest calls for service, which have the highest need for coverage," Kracyla said.
Among the locations cited by the chief are the Little Creek and Hollybrook apartment complexes, as well as their surrounding areas.
The department initially planned to install 20 cameras on utility poles throughout the town. However, that plan was scaled back after Delmarva Power declined to allow the attachments. A company representative said unauthorized attachments can pose safety risks.
"At Delmarva Power, our top priority is ensuring the safety, reliability, and integrity of the electric grid. Utility poles are critical infrastructure, and any equipment attached to them must meet rigorous safety, engineering, and legal standards," a representative said in a statement to WBOC.
"We have a review and approval process both for attachments regulated by the local Public Service Commissions in Maryland and Delaware, and the Federal Communications Commission (e.g., telecommunication wires), and for unregulated attachments. Unauthorized attachments—regardless of intent—pose safety risks."
"We are committed to working collaboratively with states, municipalities, and public safety agencies to support our shared public safety goals."
That decision from DP&L imposed further installation costs on the town, as well as a requirement for solar-powered models rather than hard-wired ones, according to the police chief. Those additional costs further reduced the number of cameras to eight.
"With fewer cameras, we have fewer tools to deter crime. And solar power is what it is. It's not as reliable as hardwired would be," Kracyla said. "But the public should know that we pursued every option we could to go ahead and get it done and get the 20."
However, Kracyla said any number of cameras will help them keep the community safer.
"It's just more eyes out there. So even after the fact, we're able to go ahead and track down whatever happened. We can go back, research that information, and then we're way ahead of a normal investigation," Kracyla said.
Some community members support the expansion. Amy Handy, who runs Operation West Laurel, a neighborhood group focused on improving safety, said she welcomes the proposed security addition.
"It will serve as a deterrent," Handy said." So that if anybody's thinking about coming in and doing something they're not supposed to be doing, they will think twice," Handy said.
Handy said, back in 2023, when she says the town saw an uptick in violence, an organization helped install cameras around community members' homes for additional security. Handy said that the project went well and helped increase security around the town.
Laurel’s police chief said plans for these cameras are being finalized at a town council meeting on Monday, December 15th. He said the department hopes to begin installation as soon as possible, noting the deadline to use the grant funding is Jan. 1.
