. >> reporter: city councilmember ben bartlett said these incidents played a key role in the councilision this week to authorize a plan to add six surveillance cameras to the city. they approved 10 surveillance cameras last year to address crime. with the city being understaffed, only one had been deployed. the next cameras will be no transit stations where the attacks are taking place. according to berkeley pd, total crime is down by 22% compared to last year, but assault and battery are up 29%. ronnie regularly visits berkeley from oakland and welcomes the plan for more cameras. >> as an older person who is petrified to walk outside in oakland by myself, at night, morning, afternoon, and hearing stories about berkeley getting to be like that. >> reporter: for small business owner, maria bloom, feels more surveillance could be a slippery slope. >> i have concerns about it. i think there always needs to be a system of checks and balances and i worry about people being misidentified. >> reporter: city council says the cameras will be used solely for criminal investigations, and not fo