Baltimore has metric shittons of police cameras but it's still a dangerous shithole. Cameras don't stop idiot criminals from criming. Baltimore's police suck and the area sucks because there's massive unemployment, cameras aren't a panacea.
Cameras make it easier to gather evidence that will let the criminal justice system try and incarcerate those desperate people. It's a lot harder to commit a crime if you are currently locked in prison.
We're talking about license plate recognition cameras, not cameras that show a blurry picture of a criminal committing a crime. These LPR cameras absolutely do result in meaningful law enforcement action and help catch criminals.
See San Francisco and their use of LPR cameras like Flock combined with drone surveillance.
