BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — After months of planning, the Cocoa Housing Authority will install dozens of cameras around its 327-apartment community.

Police will also be able to access the cameras. The agency's director told Channel 9's Melonie Holt the cameras are to better protect residents.

There will be 45 security cameras that are paid for with a $250,000 U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department grant.

“I like it because of all the drugs that’s going on. I have a 10-year-old that wants to hang out and play basketball where I live at, that’s the thing about that,” said resident Phillip Simpson.

Cocoa police told Eyewitness News that while there are pockets of illegal activity around the community, the department isn't seeing a high number of calls for service. Investigators believe the cameras may serve as a deterrent to crime.

“They're trying to get it to where we can actually clock in and check in live if there's a reason to,” said Yvonne Martinez with the Cocoa Police Department.

The executive director for the Cocoa Housing Authority told Eyewitness News that he hopes his agency will have the whole system up and running by next month.

“That safety and security for our residents is the key and the cameras provide it,” said Herb Hernandez. “Because we archive the video, if something happened last night, we'll see what happened, (and) who was in the area.”

Cox Media Group