More security cameras may soon be coming to the city’s streets as Lakeland Downtown Development Authority staff said they’ve help solve crimes and deter inappropriate behaviors.
Tony Davila, LDDA’s safety director, requested the board of directors consider budgeting to purchase five new security cameras for the downtown area.
“I’m asking for five additional cameras for downtown, I have those areas I want covered,” he said.
If approved, it will dramatically increase the area under LDDA’s monitoring.
Building LDDA’s security cam network
The LDDA purchased 14 cameras manufactured by Verkada, a San Mateo California-based company through local Lakeland resaler Boring Business Solutions that were active by March 2024.
The cameras originally provided surveillance within an roughly 16-block area, from Bay Street south to Lemon Street and from Missouri Avenue east to Massachusetts Avenue.
In January 2025, the LDDA announced plans to add five additional cameras — bringing the total to 19.
Davila said the cameras have been essential in helping solve several crimes in the downtown area over the past year, from April 2025 to April 2026.
“The goal in all of this is to cover every intersection in downtown, so you cannot commit a crime in downtown,” he said. “You cannot get out of downtown and not be identified.”
Individuals suspected in two thefts, one at Black & Brew Coffee House and Bistro and one at Bodega Market, were identified using camera footage and now face criminal charges, Davila said.
He said there was a vehicle break-in along Lemon Street in which the individuals involved were identified and tracked using the LDDA’s cameras.
There have also been four occasions were patrons decided to “dine-and-dash,” or leave without paying bills at Lakeland restaurants. The responsible parties were tracked using the cameras, caught and arrested, Davila said.
Given the success, Davila has asked the LDDA board of directors to approve funds to purchase and install five additional cameras in the following area:
LDDA Board Chair Landon Beck asked Davila whether he had priced installing cameras on independent poles, rather than having to get approval from individual building owners. Davila said the issue was City of Lakeland staff was against installing anything on city property.
Incidents handled by LDDA’s security ambassadors
The LDDA’s safety and security ambassadors, a team of individuals working to improve downtown safety, operate in pairs from Tuesday to Saturday nights.
There were 382 incidents handled by the LDDA’s staff from April 2025 to April 2026. Of these, 314 were calls for service from business owners versus 40 events that were officer-initiated contact.
Davila leads his staff in engaging with individuals who are breaking city ordinances or causing nuisance behaviors, including being out in public with open alcoholic containers, panhandling, public disturbances, loitering, noise complains, suspicious individuals and trespassing.
There were 15 parking complaints, instances where Davila said people parked up on the curb or longterm parking in a 15-minute slot. In these instances, safety ambassadors accessed the security cameras to track down the driver of the vehicle involved and addressed the issue.
There were four occasions where the safety ambassadors were civilian standby for Lakeland police officers and four times they were asked to conduct wellness checks, usually an individual sitting or laying on a sidewalk or public place, Davila said.
Lakeland police officer Matthew Spota, assigned to the downtown area approximately four months ago, said the safety ambassadors are a huge asset for the area.
“The safety ambassadors being out, visible, being heard and being seen plays a huge part in the reduction the amount of calls for service,” he said. “It helps downtown and citywide. There’s less officers having to come downtown for calls for service.”
Spota also praised the LDDA staff’s ability to de-escalate situations by their approach in talking to people, a skill he said many officers don’t learn until they are on the job for several years.
“As I tell my staff, ‘We are not the saviors of downtown. Downtown will continue to run without us,'” Davila said. “We are that extra layer and set of eyes for downtown.”
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: More cameras could soon watch over a larger area of downtown Lakeland
Reporting by Sara-Megan Walsh, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
