The city of Gastonia will purchase and install 22 surveillance cameras to assist local police work.
The Gastonia City Council unanimously approved the purchase at its meeting Tuesday night.
The city will enter into a two year agreement with Flock Falcon to purchase the 22 Condor PTZ with LTE Service cameras. The initial $66,000 cost for the cameras will be covered by grants from Norfolk Southern and the Officer of Community Oriented Policing Services.
The purchase will add to Gastonia's existing fleet of 21 Flock Falcon cameras, bringing the total number of the city surveillance cameras to 43.
In a memo to city councilmembers, Gastonia Police Chief Trent Conard said he hoped to sustain the cameras entirely through grants at no cost to taxpayers.
Conard also said the cameras would be placed in "strategic areas that make it possible for law enforcement officers to respond quickly, or even immediately, to crimes in progress or to those that recently occurred, thus creating better situational awareness and increased safety for officers and citizens."