Call for MDOT Cameras to Record Footage
Could recorded footage help land criminals behind bars and get them off the streets more quickly? One Ocean Springs resident thinks so. News 25’s Kristen Durand gives us a closer look at the drive underway in our state legislature that could require MDOT to make a change.
In October of last year, Cameron May appeared before a judge. This was six weeks after the brutal rape and beating of an Ocean Springs apartment manager who was left for dead. Danny Jalanivich, the victim’s father, said, “It was a good feeling to know that he was behind bars and that he’s not going anywhere for a while.”
The preliminary hearing couldn’t come soon enough for Jalanivich, who rallied at his daughter’s side while a massive manhunt was underway. Eventually her alleged attacker was in police custody 30 days after the attack. Jalanivich believes if the area’s MDOT traffic cameras had recording capabilities, May could have been caught sooner. This is an idea he’s shared with Coast law maker Hank Zuber. Zuber plans to present a bill to the state legislature that would require MDOT to record and save traffic video for 24 hours. “He didn’t understand that they didn’t record either, you know? It’s just, if you’re going to spend that kind of money to put cameras on those lights, they ought to spend a little bit more money and get them to where they’ll record,” said Jalanivich.
For now, the MDOT cameras only live stream to keep tabs on local traffic. Jalanivich believes if these cameras had recording capabilities a lot more criminals would be taken off the streets sooner. “If you’ve got a bank robbery, if you’ve got a hold up at a store, or if you’ve got a rape victim or if you’ve got an assault victim, just any kind of crime that somebody’s going to get in their car and leave the area and if somebody’s got a description of that car, they can go to the cameras and pull it up,” said Jalanivich.
This is something that local police departments can agree with. Captain William Jackson with Ocean Springs Police Department said, “Being able to record the intersections of Highway 90 and other streets that are maintained by MDOT will just enhance our capabilities to gather evidence against people that flee a crime scene from this area or any other area.”
In a statement, MDOT tells News 25 “if there was a change in the purpose of the system, we would have to research options and funding for a replacement system. In the current format, first responders, emergency management agencies, government entities and media outlets utilize this resource free of charge.”
In October of last year, Cameron May appeared before a judge. This was six weeks after the brutal rape and beating of an Ocean Springs apartment manager who was left for dead. Danny Jalanivich, the victim’s father, said, “It was a good feeling to know that he was behind bars and that he’s not going anywhere for a while.”
The preliminary hearing couldn’t come soon enough for Jalanivich, who rallied at his daughter’s side while a massive manhunt was underway. Eventually her alleged attacker was in police custody 30 days after the attack. Jalanivich believes if the area’s MDOT traffic cameras had recording capabilities, May could have been caught sooner. This is an idea he’s shared with Coast law maker Hank Zuber. Zuber plans to present a bill to the state legislature that would require MDOT to record and save traffic video for 24 hours. “He didn’t understand that they didn’t record either, you know? It’s just, if you’re going to spend that kind of money to put cameras on those lights, they ought to spend a little bit more money and get them to where they’ll record,” said Jalanivich.
For now, the MDOT cameras only live stream to keep tabs on local traffic. Jalanivich believes if these cameras had recording capabilities a lot more criminals would be taken off the streets sooner. “If you’ve got a bank robbery, if you’ve got a hold up at a store, or if you’ve got a rape victim or if you’ve got an assault victim, just any kind of crime that somebody’s going to get in their car and leave the area and if somebody’s got a description of that car, they can go to the cameras and pull it up,” said Jalanivich.
This is something that local police departments can agree with. Captain William Jackson with Ocean Springs Police Department said, “Being able to record the intersections of Highway 90 and other streets that are maintained by MDOT will just enhance our capabilities to gather evidence against people that flee a crime scene from this area or any other area.”
In a statement, MDOT tells News 25 “if there was a change in the purpose of the system, we would have to research options and funding for a replacement system. In the current format, first responders, emergency management agencies, government entities and media outlets utilize this resource free of charge.”
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