A national crime camera program that started in New Orleans, Project NOLA, played a key role in the aftermath of the Bourbon Street terror attack on New Year’s Day.In their 16 years of work, the nonprofit partners with local police departments to monitor crime cameras; however, the Bourbon Street attack was the first terrorist attack case they assisted with.”We got a phone call. It was devastating. It was ‘Bryan, I’m standing on Bourbon Street, I am surrounded by bodies,” Bryan Lagarde said.The program equips schools, businesses, churches and everyday homes with high-tech cameras that police can access.The cameras captured the coolers left by the terror suspect, which police confirmed were IEDs. Lagarde says he assisted the FBI for about two weeks.”We used a combination of facial recognition and clothing recognition to go back in time and retrace the footsteps of the terrorist and to go back and see who did he talk to,” Lagarde said. The Three Legged Dog was the first business in the French Quarter to test out the cameras. The owner says the cameras outside of his bar help an understaffed police department.”Business cannot survive if you are not safe,” Timothy Blake, owner of the Three Legged Dog, said. “New Orleans has an issue, whatever those issues are, with getting enough police out there. OK. So, how do you protect yourself? How do I protect myself, my corner, safe for you, for the customers to come here? We do that with this type of process.”According to Project NOLA, since 2010, the cameras have helped investigate more than 500 homicides, thousands of gun-related crimes, countless property crimes involving thefts and working to dismantle gangs. There are more than 5,000 Project NOLA cameras in New Orleans, and more than 100 are in the French Quarter. A total of 10,000 of their cameras are scattered across the country.”We assist when bad things happen, but we’re very actively working in the background from trying to prevent them from happening in the first place,” Lagarde said.Project NOLA cameras only save footage going back 30 days. Lagarde says much more footage was needed in the terrorist case. He is now working on expanding footage capacity for the French Quarter while still promising privacy.
A national crime camera program that started in New Orleans, Project NOLA, played a key role in the aftermath of the Bourbon Street terror attack on New Year’s Day.
In their 16 years of work, the nonprofit partners with local police departments to monitor crime cameras; however, the Bourbon Street attack was the first terrorist attack case they assisted with.
“We got a phone call. It was devastating. It was ‘Bryan, I’m standing on Bourbon Street, I am surrounded by bodies,” Bryan Lagarde said.
The program equips schools, businesses, churches and everyday homes with high-tech cameras that police can access.
The cameras captured the coolers left by the terror suspect, which police confirmed were IEDs. Lagarde says he assisted the FBI for about two weeks.
“We used a combination of facial recognition and clothing recognition to go back in time and retrace the footsteps of the terrorist and to go back and see who did he talk to,” Lagarde said.
The Three Legged Dog was the first business in the French Quarter to test out the cameras. The owner says the cameras outside of his bar help an understaffed police department.
“Business cannot survive if you are not safe,” Timothy Blake, owner of the Three Legged Dog, said. “New Orleans has an issue, whatever those issues are, with getting enough police out there. OK. So, how do you protect yourself? How do I protect myself, my corner, safe for you, for the customers to come here? We do that with this type of process.”
According to Project NOLA, since 2010, the cameras have helped investigate more than 500 homicides, thousands of gun-related crimes, countless property crimes involving thefts and working to dismantle gangs.
There are more than 5,000 Project NOLA cameras in New Orleans, and more than 100 are in the French Quarter. A total of 10,000 of their cameras are scattered across the country.
“We assist when bad things happen, but we’re very actively working in the background from trying to prevent them from happening in the first place,” Lagarde said.
Project NOLA cameras only save footage going back 30 days. Lagarde says much more footage was needed in the terrorist case. He is now working on expanding footage capacity for the French Quarter while still promising privacy.
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