To deter theft, robbery and help identify suspects, local Georgetown businesses have installed a video surveillance camera last month on the roof of Banana Republic, at the corner of M Street and Wisconsin Avenue.
According to Lt. Brian Bray of the Metropolitan Police Department, the Georgetown Business Professional Association as well as local store owners organized the surveillance camera project in an attempt to encourage people to patronize their businesses.
According to Bray, the intersection is known for its high crime rate. There are five or six robberies, 30 to 40 thefts, five stolen vehicles, five break-ins and five to 10 assaults are reported each month in the area immediately surrounding the intersection of M Street and Wisconsin Avenue, Bray said.
Bray said that the Georgetown Business Professional Association approached MPD with its proposal for the surveillance cameras. He said that MPD cited no objections to the installation of the cameras and that in the future MPD will use the video recordings to help identify suspects. The surveillance tapes will at no point be directly monitored, Bray said.
Similar video surveillance cameras have been used in other parts of the city, but this is the first camera to be installed in the Georgetown area. Bray said that at least four more cameras are to be installed at the intersections of Key Bridge and M Street, Washington Harbour, Wisconsin and N street, 31st and M streets.
