SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Santa Monica’s 3rd Street Promenade is the latest public place that will soon apparently be under the watchful eye of police surveillance cameras.

Tuesday night the Santa Monica City Council has given the green light for a new video surveillance system at the 3rd Street Promenade and the Santa Monica Pier.

The video cameras will monitor areas visited by thousands of people.

City officials say they decided on the plan after suspicious people took pictures of some of the facilities there.

“Some men were videotaping in a manner that was inconsistent with tourist photography. They were photographing access roads and security structures,” said Chief James Butts with the Santa Monica Police Department.

The system will go online as soon as the cameras and recording system are installed.