LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – For months people have been racking their brains trying to figure out who’s responsible for dozens of security cameras on Ridge Road and why?

There are twelve cameras on one pole and 11 on another. This may very well the most monitored street in Acadiana.

There are some ideas about who owns them, but no one seems to know exactly what purpose they serve.

If you’ve ever driven down Ridge Road, chances are you’ve seen the cameras flanking the corner of Ridge Road and Ile Des Cannes.

Tammy Morrison works at the Citgo gas station.

She says the cameras give her peace of mind while on the clock.

“If there’s anything that can happen, it’s right there,” she said. 

Morisson, like many others, has no idea who owns the cameras, but their presence brings her peace of mind. 

“Not sure why they are there or what they’re doing, but it’s comforting for me.”

Another woman feels the exact opposite, saying, “They’re kind of creepy.”

Creepy enough to make her want to hide her identity and not give her name; unsure about what a person is doing to need this many cameras to protect their property.

“When you’re sitting out on your front porch and you have all these cameras down your road and you don’t know who they belong to you or why they are there, or if there is something really bad that’s going on around here”, she said.

After some digging and a few phone calls, I got a call from the Police Chief in Duson, Kip Judice, who filled us in.

“A local businessman who had a venture to help law-enforcement, as an expansion to the ‘see something say something’ movement”, Chief Judice said.

The businessman, who does not want to be named, also owns the company Crimefighters of Louisiana.

The goal is to give law enforcement more eyes on the street and offer them direct access to different types of cameras.

“Some with night vision, some without night vision, some with a long-range capability, some with a very wide angle capability to provide us law enforcement an opportunity to go and see what the different cameras out there do”, the chief explained.

The utility poles the cameras are mounted on are not government property. 

They’re all owned by the company, that in most cases, lease a piece of land from the landowners.

And they aren’t just on Ridge Road. 

The same camera systems are in Duson, Broussard, Scott and more to come.

Chief Judice says the service costs the police departments nothing.

All of the agencies involved have direct access to the footage, and it has already proven successful in Duson and Broussard, according to police.