DOVER, Del. - A long-requested security camera is one step closer to being installed in a Dover neighborhood where residents have raised concerns about illegal dumping, suspicious activity and crime for years.
City crews have erected a utility pole and installed wiring in the alley behind Barrister Place in the Stoney Creek community. The surveillance camera is expected to be installed by the city's contractor in the coming weeks.
Dover City Councilman Brian Lewis said he first requested the camera after hearing repeated complaints from residents about illegal dumping, people gathering in the alley and motorbikes using the access road.
"There were complaints from my constituents in this area regarding crime occurring in the alleyway, illegal dumping occurring, people congregating, motorbikes driving around this access road," Lewis said.
Residents have been asking for the camera for years, and those calls intensified after a 22-year-old man was fatally shot near the alley last summer.
Lewis said funding for the project came from excess money in the city's Parks and Recreation Department budget. Once operational, the camera will become part of Dover Police's existing network of public safety surveillance cameras.
City leaders hope the camera will help deter illegal dumping and provide investigators with valuable evidence when crimes occur.
Neighbor Paul, who lives in the Stoney Creek community, said residents have relied on home security cameras in the meantime, but believes the city's surveillance camera will provide much broader coverage.
"This one's going to be a hundred times more upgrade because our cameras can only catch certain clips," he said. "This one here is going to be 24/7. They'll see what's going on."
Lewis said while the camera is an important step, residents continue to express concerns about crime in the area and hope the added surveillance will improve safety and discourage illegal activity.
