By MINDY KEPFIELD

Staff writer

Marion city police are hoping an extra set of eyes offered by security cameras will help protect city property.

They got started by replacing old cameras in Marion’s Central Park with new ones routed through the Marion County Museum’s Internet.

“Cameras and lighting are the best deterrent to theft,” city police chief Clinton Jeffrey said.

City officials are hoping they will deter other crimes as well —the cameras are trained on the park’s repeatedly vandalized bathrooms.

A March incident during which vandals filled sinks and smeared walls with mud was the last straw, Jeffrey admits.

The new cameras cost several hundred, but a really good one can run tens of thousands.

That’s not quite what they are looking to spend, but Jeffrey said placing security cameras in the downtown has been a goal of the department for nearly three years.

“If you have cameras, when crimes occur they can give you something to go off of,” said Jeffrey.