The Montgomery County Council voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of more than $4.7 million in funding for additional surveillance cameras at public parking garages in Bethesda, Silver Spring and Wheaton.
More surveillance cameras are needed to address increased public safety concerns in the areas, according to Councilmember Kate Stewart. Installation will address lack of stairwell coverage, improve footage in areas that have limited fields of view and provide enhanced video retention and security capabilities.
The money, which will be taken out of current revenue in the general fund, will fund installation of 290 cameras across 22 parking garages in the three areas, Stewart said.
The council will spend more than $2 million at nine Bethesda county parking carriages, $339,000 at three Wheaton garages and more than $2.4 million across 10 Silver Spring garages.
The joint Transportation and Environment and Government Operation and Fiscal Policy committee recommended approval of the funding after a Feb. 22 discussion.
“This is the first phase of making sure that our residents are safer when they visit and work in our downtown areas and park,” said Councilmember Evan Glass, one of the joint committee chairs.
There were 3,438 auto thefts in Montgomery County last year — about a 130% increase from the 1,499 auto thefts in 2022, according to DataMontgomery. Last year was the worst year for auto thefts since DataMontgomery started keeping track in 2016. Carjackings also increased by 40% last year, from 79 incidents in 2022 to 112 in 2023.
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