Fed up with crime in the French Quarter, a group of residents has come up with an idea to blanket the area with inexpensive web cameras to try to catch criminals in the act.

Joshua Clark, who has helped organize a program called Quarter Safe, says he is urging businesses and residents in the Quarter to purchase web cams for as little as $10 and to mount them prominently.

Clark says once you have done that, preferably with a camera that will keep at least three days of images, you can sign up at http://www.quartersafe.com. He says that when a crime is committed in the Quarter, the Eighth District Police will check the data base of cameras to see which ones may have caught pictures of the crime.

“This will not only deter criminals, it will catch them,” he said. “They are up 24 hours a day. They can’t be intimidated. When you have an image of a criminal in court, they always plead guilty, that’s what detectives tell me.”

The idea has already caught on. Will Norris said his father was held up at knife point several months ago.

“It was an armed robbery within the courtyard,” he recalled. “Fortunately, this guy was convicted, but if there had been a camera, we would’ve had the recording of him parked out there, looking for a victim.”

Norris said he has purchased two cameras and hopes to have them up and running soon. He hopes others will do likewise.