The Prince George’s County Council approved legislation that will help residents and businesses with the cost of surveillance cameras.
A mother who lost her teenage son to gun violence was the driving force behind the bill. She believes if there had been footage of her son’s murder in November, the case could have been solved.
“Jayz Agnew was my 13-year-old son that was shot in his front yard while raking leaves,” Juanita Agnew testified before the Council.
She wonders whether having a camera on her home in Hillcrest Heights would have helped investigators catch her son’s killer.
Jayz’s 6-year-old sister also spoke to the Council members.
“If we had cameras, we probably wouldn’t be here right now,” she said.
Agnew learned many of her neighbors didn’t have working cameras, either, and cost was an issue.
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She worked with Council member Krystal Oriadha on a bill to offer vouchers. The Council unanimously approved it.
“It’s really important to me,” Oriadha said. “It’s the first thing that she asked for when I met her after her son was tragically murdered.”
The private security camera incentive program will provide $200 to residents, businesses and nonprofits to buy cameras and $100 to cover subscription costs to have the video recorded and stored.
“It’s something some people take for granted,” Oriadha said. “Just the idea of having a simple Ring camera or some type of camera at your home, but that alone was the difference between finding justice for her son and not.”
Oriadha hopes to allocate $250,000 to $500,000 to get the program up and running and hopes residents and businesses can apply starting in 2024.
