Annapolis to triple downtown surveillance

Annapolis police will soon have extra eyes on downtown streets, thanks to a federal grant to supply 20 additional surveillance cameras, The Baltimore Sun reports.

The new cameras will make a total of 30 surveillance cameras downtown, and they will be installed early this summer, said Beth Hart, special projects director for the Police Department.

She said the surveillance cameras provide an alternative to "sending an officer out." The department has about 130 officers to cover the city of about 39,000 residents.

The money comes from a Department of Homeland Security grant to provide extra security to the state's capital. Six cameras were installed more than two years ago and have helped solve crimes, Hart said. She said the cameras have been particularly helpful by monitoring bar crowds.