Tuesday, February 14, 2012 By Greg Wiley Traffic cameras will soon be placed in Tequesta. - Palm Beach Post Advertising The Tequesta Police Are Watching you Tequesta police will soon know if a vehicle enters or leaves the Village of Tequesta with the addition of two cameras on the Tequesta Drive bridge. The cameras will be the second installation in Tequesta, the first being cameras on Country Club Drive that have been in operation for almost two years. The two cameras, which will be perched on the bridge with twelve-foot poles, will photograph the rear license plates of any vehicle entering or leaving Tequesta. Within three seconds, computers can tell Tequesta police officers if the owner of the vehicle is being sought by authorities, if that vehicle has been stolen, or if the owner has a traffic violation. The new cameras have been met with mixed reactions by visitors and residents. Tanner Bloom, a student who is a resident of Tequesta, said that he "thinks it’s creepy and scary that the Tequesta Police Department will know where I was at a certain time." A Jupiter resident who frequently visits Tequesta said, "I feel that having traffic cameras in Tequesta will improve the safety of the area" The traffic cameras have helped officers catch criminals over the past couple of years. The cameras on Country Club Drive, along with other cameras on Tequesta police cars, have helped lead to eight arrests, the most recent one occurring on January 6th. The cameras can also help officers who are looking for a certain type of vehicle. For example, if a home in Tequesta was burglarized and witnesses say that a blue Honda was seen leaving the scene, Tequesta officers can program the camera system to only show blue Hondas that passed through a certain location during a specific time. The Tequesta Police Department hopes to eventually have a traffic camera at every entrance and exit in the Village of Tequesta to enforce and exit in the Village of Tequesta to enforce.

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