HOUGHTON -- The city of Houghton is stepping up surveillance capabilities in the downtown area this summer.

The police got a $14,000 grant to upgrade downtown surveillance.  Sixteen new cameras now cover Shelden Avenue from Franklin Square to the Downtowner, sending a constant stream of video back to the Houghton Police Department.

"We’d like to deter anything that could possibly happen, anything from a hit and run to a bar fight,” says Chief John Donnelly.  “We think people will make better decisions if they know it's being recorded."

Since word got out about the upgrades, there've been a number of angry editorials in the local paper.  Still, everyone I asked downtown seemed to think the cameras are a good idea.

"It’s wonderful; our safety is very crucial,” says Maria Britz.   “It's good for the town and for us."

"It’s pretty busy down here,” says Kelsey Waugh.  “I bet sometimes accidents happen, and the police can't be everywhere, so if it's an extra set of eyes, I don't think it's a bad thing at all."

The new cameras are in plain sight, and they give the police a variety of wide and close-up angles to watch and review what's happening downtown.

"The last thing we'd do is violate anyone's privacy,” Donnelly says.  “But we're continuously being asked to do more with less with our department and a shrinking budget.  These cameras are a great tool that helps us stay efficient."

No matter how many cameras they have downtown, Donnelly says they won't be able to catch everything.  But the upgrades have already helped out with a few of their investigations.