Foley plans to widen its network of municipal cameras at intersections and other sites as part of an ongoing push to strengthen public safety across the city.

Foley City Council voted recently to purchase and install nine additional cameras for the public safety system. Officials did not release the new locations. The additions mark the second phase of the city’s Public Safety Systems Improvement Capital Project.

Police Chief Kevin Carnley said the expansion will build on technology already in place and enhance officers’ ability to prevent and solve crimes.

“This is part of our plan to add more cameras throughout the city for security purposes,” Carnley said. “They play an integral role in everything we're doing now.”

Carnley said the city’s existing network, along with privately owned cameras, helped investigators resolve a recent incident in north Foley.

“That cooperation between some of our systems and the systems that people have on their residences helped us solve that,” Carnley told council members. “So we're asking to put in more cameras.”

Mayor Ralph Hellmich said the camera systems have become a key tool for public safety and daily operations.

“I'm a big believer in cameras,” Hellmich said. “I think they’re a force multiplier, and they have been invaluable over the past few years.”

He said officials are reviewing which systems best match Foley’s needs as technology evolves and costs vary among models.

“I've found that all cameras are not created equal,” Hellmich said. “It depends on the location. Some are more expensive than others. Some are more complicated. They try to find the best fit for that situation and not cost exorbitant money.”

Hellmich said the city is also coordinating with local utility providers to reduce installation expenses as the network grows.

Carnley said using more than one vendor increases reliability if maintenance requires a system to be taken offline.

“We work with multiple vendors so that the systems are not all the same,” Carnley said. “If one goes down for maintenance, we don't want the whole city to be out at one time. So we do have multiple systems that we use.”