ACADIA PARISH — Chief Troy Hebert of the Crowley Police Department has been thinking about installing crime cameras for a while, but the price tag was a major obstacle. When he started getting estimates, contractors wanted about $20,000 per pole.
"I was able to reduce that cost to about $8,000 to $10,000 a pole if I did it myself. So I learned real quick how to do it, and another officer and I here, we went to work and got it done," Hebert said.
With support from the city council, Hebert decided to cut costs by building the camera systems himself. His handy nature made the project possible.
"Yeah, pretty much, I figured if a man can do it, I can do it too," Hebert said.
Behind the police department now sits a makeshift scrap yard where Hebert's vision is coming to life through secondhand and leftover materials.
"It's really going great, though. I couldn't be prouder, you know, and I think the stuff that I'm putting in place today is really going to make a better future for them tomorrow," Hebert said.
Since the first camera went up, the department has seen a 55% reduction in burglaries and a 50% reduction in shootings, according to department data, Hebert says.
To keep that momentum going, Crowley PD hopes to add cameras in 15 more locations.
"It's definitely working. We see it, we see a change, we see a big change. Hopefully, it continues to grow, and I think it will," Hebert said.
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