An launch party for the Safe City Federal Way was held May 27 at City Hall.

Safe City, a nationwide program supported by the Target Corporation, involves 27 closed-circuit cameras in the downtown core in places such as The Commons mall parking lot and other businesses.

Live video is directed to police and volunteers, who watch for criminal activity. With a click of a mouse, they can switch cameras or zoom in on details such as license plate numbers. The program can be used to help identify suspects as well as call for aid to injured victims or bystanders before police arrive on scene. The effort is more than three years in the making and is expected to be a crime deterrent.

At the launch party, King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satteberg praised Federal Way’s adoption of the program as a step toward increased safety and crime prevention.

“It makes your police department instantly more efficient and more effective,” he said.

The launch party featured surveillance video of incidents such as a recent bank robbery suspect at Heritage Bank and a car crash in Federal Way.