PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – The Portsmouth Police Department, or PPD, is hoping to combat a string of violence that has been happening in the city recently. 

There have been 11 shooting scenes across the city so far in October, three that happened on this past Sunday alone. 

According to a PPD spokesperson, they have added a total of three cameras along High Street throughout the month. The first camera was put up on Thursday, Oct. 10, and the other two were put up on Thursday, Oct. 25.  

One camera is located on the corner of High Street and Court Street, and another is right in front of the Portsmouth Welcome Center one block away.   

Curtis Lyons owns the restaurant Roger Browns on High Street. He told 10 On Your Side he noticed the one on the corner of Court Street and High Street days after a shooting happened early Sunday morning in the area.  

“The violence seems to be everywhere, you know, it just happened real close by here this last weekend and then a couple weekends ago,” Lyons said. “We want to get lighting, security, green scape, you know, the citizens all coming together to, you know, make our city pretty, walkable.”  

One of his hopes also was for the city to add more cameras and that seems to have happened.   

“I think gives people a sense of, you know, safety, you know,” Lyons said. “And of course, people who aren’t criminals are going to want to stay away from cameras, you know. So, it’s preventing things [which] is what our city needs to do more of.”  

PPD told 10 On Your Side the cameras are a part of the department’s plan to keep downtown residents and businesses safe.   

“It will make a difference for sure. You know, I mean, hopefully we’ll have cameras up and down the street here, and, you know, protect our citizens, our residents, our businesses, because it’s a beautiful city. We have great people here. It should be very walkable and safe,” Lyons said.