By: Lisa Coleman

Guess who’s watching? Criminals may want to think twice before engaging in illegal activity in Mexico City these days. The truth is, the walls have eyes…literally. Six years ago, 100 cameras were installed throughout the heavily touristed areas of the city in an attempt to reduce crime. Since then, street crime has fallen 40%, and that’s an impressive number. To further confirm the success of the project, a surveillance camera is reponsible for capturing footage of suspects in bombing attempt.

Officials plan to install an additional 8,000 high-resolution cameras around the city over the next three years. They will be placed in primarily well-known high crime areas, but nearly half will be located near parks and public schools. As a secondary function, the cameras will be linked to a control center that will be able to monitor different parts of the city in case of emergencies or natural disasters.

Some may argue against it being too “big brother,” but I’m not one of them. It is always a constant battle to convince people that Mexico City isn’t as bad as they hear… and now I have some proof. See, it’s 40% better than it was six years ago! Hats off to the mayor this time; I think he got this one right.