San Jose's Alum Rock businesses getting free cameras to combat crime

SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose’s Alum Rock community is fed up with the increase in crime. Now businesses are getting a new tool to try to stop it – cameras.

In the last few years, businesses have been broken into, and some employees have been robbed at gunpoint. Often these crimes happen in broad daylight.

In the summer of 2022, five suspects robbed popular Peter's Bakery. Surveillance cameras were rolling as the criminals held employees at knife point. Seeing that incident play out on-camera really worried local residents and created a sense of fear for small business owners and employees.

"It’s already hard enough to live in the Bay Area, let alone have a small business in the Bay Area. It’s expensive and then somebody takes everything from you," said Regina Diaz who lives in Alum Rock. 

Diaz said she prefers to stay home, nervous about coming out to the business coordinator.  

"Historically, our neighborhoods and business corridors have lacked the infrastructure investments that have led to success in other parts of our great city," said council member Peter Ortiz.

Ortiz helped secure $50,000 in funding for a camera pilot program, giving 35 businesses 4 cameras each for free. Businesses have the option to let police monitor the video in real time, and if there is a crime, they can easily send video evidence to police.  

"A lot of these businesses are family owned and they’re small. So even if they have the money to buy the cameras, they might not have the expertise to set it up," said Dr. Hie Nguyen, president of the Alum Rock Village Businesses Association and an Alum Rock dental practice owner.

Ngyuen said she thinks about half of the area's businesses don't already have cameras. She said crime has decreased as businesses have begun working together recently, and she believes cameras will help empower owners even more.

"If they know that we’re out here watching them, they won’t come. If they know they will get in trouble, they won’t do it," said Nguyen. 

But community members aren't too confident that cameras are going to actually make a difference. 

"If they want to do something, they’ll do it. Or they’ll just go down the street or around the corner to do it," said Alum Rock resident Freddy Jensen. 

"A lot of times, even with Ring cameras and that stuff, criminals don’t really care. Probably because they just get a slap on the wrist and that kind of sucks too. But hopefully it will be a deterrent and at least it will make me feel safer just to know that if something was to happen, at least they know who did it," said Diaz.

This is a pilot program so depending on how it goes, it could roll out in other areas of the city or be made permanent.