Owners of high-occupancy buildings or age-restricted senior residences will be required to establish video surveillance of properties under a bill the Prince George’s County Council passed Tuesday, billed by proponents as an attempt to boost resident safety amid rising crime.
Fast, informative and written just for locals. Get The 7 DMV newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning.
The council voted 9-2 to direct owners of qualifying properties to deploy surveillance cameras in areas such as parking lots, sidewalks and trash enclosures, and to retain footage for no less than 30 days. Footage must be kept no less than 180 days from the request date of law enforcement or a tenant.
The effort, led by Council member Wala Blegay (D-District 6), builds on previous legislation that required landlords to keep tenants reasonably safe, but did not detail how that should occur. Council members Mel Franklin (D-At Large) and Sydney J. Harrison (D-District 9) abstained on Tuesday, citing concerns over costs and efficacy.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Lateshia Beachum over at The Washington Post
