Police about to have La Crosse under camera surveillance

Two cameras have gone up in Riverside, another temporarily on Pearl Street

Two surveillance cameras are close to operational for the La Crosse city police department.

The cameras are in Riverside Park and should be integrated into the entire department system soon, says sergeant Randy Rank, at which point police will be able to access the video feed from the cameras even while behind the wheel in their squad cars.

The two cameras were paid for by a federal grant and were meant to enhance port security.

They are funded separately from the Safe Cam project, which will lead eventually to a network of surveillance cameras throughout the downtown.

As part of that project, a company has placed temporary cameras on Pearl Street for the city to test through Oktoberfest.