MT. VERNON — The Mt. Vernon Police Department has had about 50 surveillance cameras operational and in-use since late last year, and police and the county justice system are starting to see the benefits of the cameras.

Mt. Vernon Assistant Police Chief Robert Brands has been the lead in working to get the cameras set up and operational in the city. He says the system’s capabilities not only give them eyes throughout the community, it doesn’t require extra police manpower.

Jefferson County State’s Attorney Sean Featherstun has been able to use the video from the system in closed and on-going criminal cases. He says there is no better evidence than seeing what happened in real-time.

Brands says the system also has the capability to connect to local businesses’ and schools’ security video feeds to the department’s if they choose to give MVPD access to the live video.