MT. VERNON — Mt. Vernon city officials are looking at ways to combat higher crime areas on the city’s south side. One idea officials is looking into are security cameras in the highest crime areas.

City manager Mary Ellen Bechtel says these cameras would aid police in identifying people and vehicles involved in complaints in the surveilled areas.

The cameras option is only being researched at this point. Bechtel says the city has also applied for a grant from Ameren to replace all street lights in that area with brighter, LED lights, which she says are also a way to deter crime in those areas.