BATON ROUGE - The East Baton Rouge Metro Council approved a measure upgrading security in the Sherwood Forest area, more than a year after a seemingly random killing shocked a usually quiet neighborhood.

Law enforcement will get access to 16 security cameras monitored by crime district patrols in that neighborhood.

"It's a system in place to when an activity happens in that area, we're going to reach out to everyone in that area. We'll attempt to get as much video surveillance footage and as much information from the neighbors to help us with our investigation," said Sgt. L'Jean McKneely, with Baton Rouge Police.

The concern over surveillance comes after a murder on Brookshire Avenue, where Nessa Hartley was shot and killed in January 2019. Her murder remains unsolved and led to increased calls for these cameras to be installed.

The system would feed back information to the police department's real-time crime center.

"It's also going to give the residents in that area a sense of empowerment, because they're going to know that our camera share program is available to help them solve potential crimes," McKneely said.

BRPD hopes this partnership with the Crime District will be the prototype for other neighborhoods.