ATLANTA — Atlanta City Council approved legislation to address safety measures in the city's parks. The legislation calls for the installation of video surveillance cameras at all city-owned parks and recreation facilities. It would also integrate with a camera feed straight into the Atlanta Police Department's system and improve response time.
The decision comes after calls for increased security after the death of Katie Janness at Piedmont Park.
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The city has been on edge, with no suspect yet identified and no sense of a motive in the brutal killing of Janness and her dog, Bowie.
After Janness' death, the city released grainy images from cameras outside the park and said they weren't sure they were able to access the outdated cameras inside the park. There were only nine cameras in the park that were installed in 2009 as part of a pilot.
“The cameras that have been labeled as having 'outlived their usefulness' is a natural place to look as far as replacing them," Atlanta City Councilman Matt Westmoreland said just a few weeks ago in regard to the concerns. "This is one piece of the conversation citywide about making sure we have coverage that will help keep residents and businesses safe. I think all of those are pieces of the puzzle that will go a long way in making residents feel safe, but know this is top of mind.”