In a rare evening news conference, city leaders and DTE Electric announced a partnership aimed at putting better lighting and more surveillance cameras at Detroit businesses.
The Project Green Light program was launched in January with just eight businesses.
There are now 52.
"This is probably one of the best community, corporate, business, police partnerships that I've been a part of,"said Detroit police Chief James Craig.
The high definition cameras are monitored around-the clock by Detroit police, but they require brighter lighting, which can cost business owners thousands of dollars.
"Green light has two components: one is high definition cameras monitored at police headquarters but they don't do any good unless the lighting is so bright you can see those license plates and see those faces," said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.
To help with the added expense, DTE will offer rebates of up to seven thousand dollars to make it easier for businesses to afford the lighting needed to set up the cameras.
DTE president Trevor Lauer praised the program.
"When we look at projects like this it's a win-win. Not only do we get to help all of our business customers on energy reduction, helping them to light up their facilities. We also get to help the city with a really important piece of trying to make Detroit one of the greatest cities in America again,"Lauer said.
Green light cameras are now in place at 52 businesses around the city. The cameras are installed by Comcast and cost $140 dollars a month to operate. Craig said there has been a 50 percent reduction in violent crime at locations where cameras are in place.
Nasser Beydoun owns several participating Green Light businesses. He said improving public safety helps his bottom line.
"We see all that's going on in downtown and midtown, but we realized that if the neighborhoods don't come back the city can't come back, and we wanted to help and be part of Detroit's rebirth and make sure that the citizens of Detroit have well lit, clean establishments that they can frequent so that they don't have to go to the suburbs to put gas (in vehicles). They can feel safe here in the city of Detroit," Beydoun said.
Duggan said the city has a goal of setting up cameras at 100 locations before making them mandatory for places that do business at night in Detroit.
