ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — One man was fatally stabbed, while another was found bleeding to death on New Year's Day in Atlantic City, the gambling resort that is currently adding hundreds of new security cameras to the thousands already keeping an electrical eye on the busy tourist destination.
The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said police responded at 6:15 a.m. Monday to a 911 call of a man who was found bleeding in the street near the beach and who later died at a hospital. Just over an hour later, police received a second 911 call about a 22-year-old man pronounced dead from multiple stab wounds near the Boardwalk.
The deaths appear to be unrelated and no arrests had been made as of Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. But it's cases like these that are sparking calls for new cameras amid increased demands for greater public safety at a gambling resort visited by 27 million people annually.
In October, the city announced a $5 million state-funded program to install 200 cameras, each with five independent lenses, in city neighborhoods. Police Chief James Sarkos says this is comparable to deploying 1,000 new cameras to supplement the 3,000 public and private cameras already in use.
While this isn't enough to cover every inch of the 48-block city, the vast majority of Atlantic City will be covered once the project is completed later this year.
Still, the stakes are high for a resort that relies on tourists and their money; if gamblers, vacationers and others don't feel safe in Atlantic City, they go elsewhere.
“Public safety is extremely important in Atlantic City,” said Sarkos, who called the cameras “a force multiplier” that extends officers' reach to places where they are not physically present. “It is a tremendous investment in public safety and it will make Atlantic City safer for everyone.”
Neither city police nor the county prosecutor's office would say whether the network of existing cameras on and near the Boardwalk and on neighborhood streets captured images that could aid the investigation into the two New Year's Eve deaths.
A Nov. 7 murder near Boardwalk Hall also remains unsolved. Authorities also would not say whether an outdoor security camera mounted on a nearby building provided anything useful in that investigation.
Police statistics show that several categories of serious crime increased in 2023 compared to the previous year. From January 1 through November 26, there were seven homicides in Atlantic City, compared to six in the same period a year earlier. The number of serious assaults increased from 317 in 2022 to 355 last year, and the number of robberies in the same period from 189 to 194.
City and state officials have worked hard to address widespread public safety concerns in Atlantic City, investing millions in the process.
But Associated Press interviews conducted before the latest deaths show that changing perceptions won't happen overnight.
“I don't believe Atlantic City is safe,” said Leonard Hall of Mullica Hill, New Jersey. “Safe is being able to walk around without your life being in greater danger. I'm for more cameras, but that won't stop criminals. Some people say they had a nice experience, but that doesn't change the stabbings, shootings, thefts or assaults that have happened to others.”
However, Ed Jessup of Brooklyn, New York, said he feels safe walking around Atlantic City, and not just on the Boardwalk.
“I shopped in the stores, went out to eat and felt fine,” he said. “You only have to be aware of your surroundings in the dark.”
Police in Las Vegas, whose population of 646,000 people is 17 times larger than that of Atlantic City and which has more than six times as many casinos, would not discuss that city's use of security cameras, other than to say that technology is an important role in public safety.
Atlantic City resident Jeff Behm called the cameras “a great idea that can only help.”
“Parts of Atlantic City feel safe, but most places don't after dark,” he said. “If they catch the criminals but they are back on the street the next day, the cameras obviously won't help much.”
Amy Jackson of York, Pennsylvania, said the cameras make her feel safer.
“We might want to advertise that AC has cameras, so think twice before committing a crime,” she said.
The city has had cameras on the Boardwalk since 2016.
Not only have they helped solve numerous crimes, including a near-fatal stabbing, a burglary and bag stealing, but they have also found lost children and elderly visitors who had wandered off. They even thwarted a false injury claim in which a man saw a slightly raised plank on the walkway, was lying next to it, and called for help, saying he had tripped over it, fallen and injured himself, Lt. Kevin Fair said.
The new cameras, as well as most existing ones, are monitored in real time by a surveillance unit at police headquarters, staffed by retired police officers. Incoming calls for help can quickly be linked to camera feeds that show the area the call is coming from, so officers can see what's happening before they even arrive.
Although the cameras do not use facial recognition, they can quickly gather information that describes a suspect, such as the color of clothing, shoes or a vehicle associated with a crime.
Private businesses, including the nine casinos, can quickly and easily share their own camera feeds with police if necessary, Sarkos added.
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