How would you feel if your home was being watched in the city you lived in? If you are a law abiding citizen, you might think it’s wonderful to have 24hr surveillance. If you are a criminal, you might not like it so much.

This is exactly what is happening in Wilmington, the largest city in the state of Delaware. Like most other cities on the East and West Coasts, Wilmington saw a huge increase of crime during the late 80’s and early 90’s which carried over to the 2000’s. To counter this crime wave, Wilmington became the first city in the U.S. to have its entire downtown area under surveillance. The money for these video cameras came from various sources including public money and downtown businesses and the cameras have the exteriors of all the buildings in view. More recently, the city has expanded the surveillance program to cover some of the more crime-ridden neighborhoods.

A total of 47 surveillance cameras keep track of all kinds of activity all around Wilmington. They are monitored by a company called “Downtown Visions.” Last year, police say those monitors helped officers make nearly 400 arrests for a multitude of crimes.

So if you are thinking about buying real estate in Wilmington, DE, just remember, some properties comes with their own “eye in the sky.”