City council proposes surveillance at Lake Charles Civic Center

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - The Lake Charles City Council wants to enhance security measures at one of the major hotspots - the civic center. The proposal is in the early stages, but the city says it is worth the wait.

Lake Charles City officials say a few exterior cameras have lined the building in the past; however, the hurricanes took them out.

Since, the site has been left without surveillance. In such a highly trafficked area, those who visit wonder why the cameras have been left damaged.

“Kinda surprised,” resident Kayla Stukes said. “I thought they had cameras up already. They should have put that up when they built the building.”

Residents cite concerns with drag racing and several crime scenes around the civic center.

“They have people that come in the area that just do stuff that they are not supposed to be doing,” Stukes said. “I mean, I just don’t understand why they wouldn’t have cameras up.”

City officials say the installation is not prompted by any single event, only as a concern to general welfare and public safety.

“At any city facilities, we want to have the right kind of equipment out there and the civic center is a very busy area,” Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter said. “It’s busy at noon, sometimes it’s busy at 10 p.m. and we just want to have the right surveillance to make sure we are capturing. We want people to feel safe as well.”

The council says it will take some time before these measures are approved, then a few months before repairs and additional cameras are added.

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