Hollister adding security cameras at McCarthy Park

HOLLISTER, Calif. (KION)

On Monday, Hollister City Council voted YES to add security cameras at McCarthy Park, a location which police and residents say is seeing gang activity and an increase in homeless transients.

Residents asked to remain anonymous for fear of their safety as they voiced concerns of disruptive activity at the park.

“I see a lot of younger teens consuming substances, a lot more homeless people sleeping at the park, I think it’s important to have some kind of security here," says one Hollister woman.

The woman lives just across the street from the park and says she avoids going unless it is completely empty, even during the day, adding her biggest concern is for the safety of her children.

A second resident says he has made multiple calls to police, reporting suspicious or disruptive activity at the park.

“There’s gangs, skateboarders here at night, I hear something, I have to come out of my house sometimes at night because you don’t know what’s going on around here, there’s been robberies," says the man.

He says he believes break-ins in his neighborhood may have something to do with the increase of individuals hanging around and living at the park.

Chief Carlos Reynoso with the Hollister Police Department confirmed with KION that McCarthy Park has a history with gang activity, even people reported to be drinking and leaving bottles of alcohol at the park.

Chief Reynoso says the new cameras will help make police response to the area faster.

"When the cameras are fully functional, there is a capability for supervisors and officers on the street to see what’s happening live at that location, if they’re dispatched to that area, they’ll be able to see what is going on before they even get there," says Reynoso.

Chief Reynoso says the new security cameras will be fully installed at McCarthy Park in a few months.