DeKalb County ordinance requires convenience stores to install surveillance cameras

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Convenience stores in DeKalb County will soon be required to have high-quality surveillance cameras.

The DeKalb County Commission unanimously approved an ordinance Tuesday morning that not only requires surveillance cameras at convenience stores, but also regulates the type, number, and location.

The law is aimed at cutting down on violent crime at convenience stores and establishments that are designated as high-risk businesses. Those businesses could include extended stay motels if the establishment meets the crime threshold.

The ordinance would require a dedicated camera at each register, entrance, exit, parking lot, and gas pump. The goal would be to have most areas of transactions covered and for the video to be visible enough to identify a person.

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The cameras must be operational 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.

The new ordinance would require businesses to keep a record of the video for at least 30 days. It also requires that a business turn over requested video within 72 hours to law enforcement.

The ordinance will impact just under 300 businesses in DeKalb County.

The businesses will be required to comply starting in June 2022.