Winter Springs receives $80K Homeland Security grant to deter terrorists

WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. — The Winter Springs Police Department is installing surveillance cameras to deter terrorists.

The police chief said the cameras will go in places people spend time every day.

Shannon White and her dog Percy spend a lot of time at the neighborhood dog park.

"I feel safe when we come here, I think it's 'cause we're on the main road but in Winter Springs we do have a lot of law enforcement anyways," White said.

Law-enforcement officials plan to broaden their watch with a new surveillance program that will start at the water treatment plant.

Police just received $80,000 from the Department of Homeland Security to add cameras, all in the fight against terrorism.

Winter Springs applied for the grant two years ago.

White said Winter Springs doesn't seem like a target for terrorism, "but never underestimate bad people."

"There's a possibility for terrorists anywhere in the world," Chief of Police Kevin Brunelle said.

Since police will now have the infrastructure in place, the police chief says adding cameras around town makes sense.

Eventually, they'll go in public places, like parks, City Hall, even parking lots.

Most of the cameras won't be placed in secret spots where you can't see them. In fact, the chief said he'll put them in public spots, where everyone can see they're being watched.

The hope is they'll deter criminals from targeting families in the places they hang out.

When Eyewitness News dug through archives, it learned the city of Orlando doesn't tell residents where similar cameras are located or even let them see the video.

"The video needs to be available if you're going be transparent, which is what I'm trying to do here. I'm not going to hide the video," Brunelle said.

That's OK with White.

"As long as you're not doing anything that you're not supposed to, why would you care?" White said.

The police chief said he's still months away from installing the first cameras.

The video they capture will be saved on a server for 30 days.

WFTV