Targeting crime, Houston may require bars, nightclubs to install outside security cameras

Houston bars and nightclubs soon could be required to install outdoor security cameras as part of Mayor Sylvester Turner’s citywide plan to combat a rise in violent crime. The proposal, set for City Council consideration Wednesday, would mandate bars, nightclubs, sexually oriented businesses, convenience stores and game rooms to start recording surveillance footage from outside their buildings within 90 days. It also would require convenience stores to install enhanced lighting at their entrances. Under the proposed ordinance, the businesses must save surveillance footage for at least 30 days. Owners would have to turn footage over to the Houston Police Department upon request within 72 hours.

The proposal is part of One Safe Houston, a $44 million dollar initiative aimed at reducing violent crime through expanded mental health and crisis intervention programs, additional police overtime and gun buybacks. Announcing the initiative in February, the mayor’s office said increased surveillance is necessary at bars and other nighttime businesses where criminal activity is concentrated. The mayor’s office and Houston Police Department could not provide data on the prevalence of crime at those types of establishments Tuesday. The proposal comes after a series of high profile incidents at Houston-area bars, including a shooting that killed a Harris County constable deputy and injured two others as they tried to arrest a man outside a north Houston bar in October. Houston City Councilman Mike Knox said Tuesday he would oppose the ordinance, calling it “a knee-jerk response in the name of public safety that has not been thought out.”