Some 8 Percent Of Baltimore Crime Watch Cameras Don't Work, BPD Says

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The Baltimore Police Department says roughly 8 percent of the city's closed-circuit cameras do not work.

A recent count of Baltimore's Citiwatch system has found that nearly 60 of the 744 closed-circuit cameras were inoperable.

Some cameras were attached to downed poles and others had just fizzled out. Some have been impacted by wireless signal interference.

Detective Jeremy Silbert tells The Baltimore Sun that the percentage of inoperable cameras was "about average."

But he says it's a problem since "we are no longer able to benefit from the technology" when cameras become inoperable.

Ganesha Martin leads the mayor's criminal justice office. She says efforts are underway to improve the network.