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Metra Rolls Out Security Cameras On Trains As Crime 'Deterrent'

By Alex Nitkin | March 29, 2016 10:29am
 Eleven cameras have been installed inside a Metra Electric Line passenger car, officials said.
Eleven cameras have been installed inside a Metra Electric Line passenger car, officials said.
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Flickr Creative Commons/Strannik45

CHICAGO — Metra Police are testing security cameras on trains and anticipate adding more, officials announced in a Tuesday news release.

The commuter rail agency installed 11 cameras on one of its Electric Line cars thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to the announcement.

The cameras can "not only .. .act as a deterrent on their own," Metra Police Chief Joseph Perez was quoted as saying, but "they have the potential to capture information that can help lead to an arrest.”

Metra already has cameras installed on the front of all its trains, and leaders hope to have cameras mounted inside each engineer's compartment by the end of 2016, the release said.

More security cameras will be installed in passenger cars next year or "when funding becomes available," according to Metra CEO Don Orseno.

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