Cameras were activated Tuesday in a bullet resistant box equipped with a police car-style strobe light atop a pole at one site in a gritty neighborhood several blocks east of the Fremont Street Experience casino area.

Some in the area voiced support for the cameras, which were announced in June as part of a three-month pilot project that police call a way to crack down on drug dealing, assaults and robberies.

"I wish they were here years ago," said Roland August, 51, owner of a corner convenience store.

But the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada and some residents call it an invasion of privacy that will only push crime to other areas.

Lee Rowland, an ACLU of Nevada lawyer, has said that while people can choose whether to go into a casino, they can't avoid a camera outside their front door.

Security video cameras are common in and around Las Vegas-area casinos, banks, malls, hotels, government buildings, convenience stores and along freeways.

Police say they expect the new devices to be a key crimefighting tool in a quarter-mile area around Fremont and 15th streets where officers reported 357 calls for service in the last 60 days. Assaults and drug-related crimes were high on the list of calls.

Mose Rise, 29, a security guard at an area apartment complex, said he expected the cameras to be effective deterrents to drug dealing and prostitution, but said he expected people will test them.

"They are going to try the camera and see if the police are watching," he said.

Police also have also been cracking down on prostitution in the area, Rise said, adding that he noticed fewer people loitering on the corner since the cameras were installed a week ago

The devices are remotely controlled by a technician in a police office. One camera can pan, tilt and zoom on people, vehicles and street scenes. Recorded images will be kept three to seven days, police say.

The unveiling of the equipment was in conjunction with National Night Out, a nationwide anti-crime effort designed to encourage good relations between police and residents.

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