“Skywatch” Makes Them Sound Like A Bunch Of Traffic Reporters . . .

. . . when they really look more like mobile guard towers:

A series of high-tech “eyes in the sky” are being utilized to help curb the rise of violence that has occurred in Flatbush in recent weeks.

Officers from the 70th Precinct said that NYPD Skywatch camera system was placed at the corner of Dorchester Road and East 21st Street, right at the spot where three people were shot, one fatally, on July 30.

Police said that the state-of-the-art camera surveillance system, which is usually used in high-crime neighborhoods, can reportedly view incidents several blocks away from where they’re posted.

“The booth in the center platform of the camera system is manned constantly,” an NYPD spokesman explained. “So when know what’s going on when it happens. We usually use it in areas where there’s a spike of crime or a surge in shootings.”

That’s just what the cops from the 70th Precinct are trying to avoid.

Police said that they are still looking for the gunman responsible for opening fire at the corner of Dorchester Road and East 21st Street, which is close to the heart of the NYPD’s Impact Zone, a designated high crime area where additional officers are placed to deter illegal activity.

. . .

Inspector Thomas Harris, the commanding officer of the 70th Precinct said that felony crime in the Impact Zone is down 26 percent as of July 9.

With the Skywatch cameras in place, it’s Harris’ hope that even fewer crimes will take place in the area.

“I think [the cameras] are great,” he said. “It gives cops a bird’s eye view of what is going on in the community and deter crime in the area.”

Harris said that the camera platform is being well received on Dorchester Road.

“They like it,” he said. “We’re constantly there and the residents on the block are coming out and interacting with us. We’re getting nothing but positive feedback.”