LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Henderson Police are hoping a camera trailer will help curb illegal dumping at the top of Horizon Ridge Parkway.
Neighbors tell FOX5 illegal dumping in the desert area has been a problem for years.
In February, neighbor Melissa Trasatti asked what more could be done to prevent people from dumping their trash illegally.
“If you’re coming up here with the truck bed or a trailer bed of junk to dump illegally, I would think there would be some hesitation to dump here if you see a camera,” she said.
Henderson Police Lieutenant Chris Aguiar says this camera trailer is meant to do just that.
“They’re very bright and they’re visible. They have flashing lights, we’re able to communicate through them to people,” he explains.
The camera at the top of Horizon Ridge Parkway is just one of five throughout the City of Henderson.
Aguiar says they’re used preventatively to monitor special events, or reactively in response to an uptick in crime in a certain area.
He says the types of crimes they’re used for varies, but they’re most effective in places that aren’t already covered in cameras.
It’s not only Henderson Police who use the cameras.
FOX5 crews captured this Las Vegas Metropolitan Police camera trailer at the intersection of Dean Martin and Cactus.
“It could be to monitor what traffic is going on throughout that intersection. Sometimes it’s there to monitor the pedestrians that might be crossing outside the crosswalk,” Metro Police Officer Robert Wicks says. “Maybe there’s a high propensity for accidents at that traffic intersection, so that’s there to monitor and make sure that we know who actually is responsible for the accident.”
Wicks says the cameras are monitored in their Fusion Watch Center. He says if they’re not being watched live, they’re being recorded, so officers can watch the footage if needed.
He says the cameras were also used to take three illegally possessed firearms off the streets at the top of a resort parking garage back in March, feeding responding officers information in real time.
“The officer in the crime center was telling officers, ‘it looks like they just dropped stuff off the edge,’ as we were arriving, so we had officers divert quickly and go to the to the area below and find the firearms,” Wicks says.
In Henderson, Aguiar says residents can request the camera’s presence by calling the Henderson Police Department or through Contact Henderson.
Wicks says residents can’t specifically request a camera, but can put in service requests to have a Crime Prevention Specialist come out to determine if a camera is necessary.
FOX5 also reached out to the North Las Vegas Police Department, who say at this time they don’t use camera trailers in the city.
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