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Campbell police department updates technology
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The Campbell Police Department recently upgraded its surveillance system for the first time in several years. In the past, the department had nine cameras in its system. It now will have 25 to 30 at the police department, city hall and the courts. The work is being done by Mike Romeo of Tactical Protection and Surveillance LLC of Boardman.
CAMPBELL
As of June, Campbell’s police department had used the same camera system for five to seven years.
“Security was on the line here,” said Campbell Police Chief Drew Rauzan about using older equipment.
Rauzan said it was at that point the department began looking into updating its camera system. After doing some research, he said he contacted Mike Romeo of Tactical Protection and Surveillance LLC in Boardman to update the department’s system.
Romeo said he has family members who were police officers. “It really hit home when the chief asked me to do this job,” he said.
Romeo realized early on while fixing the department’s camera system that it needed a lot of work. Though he said the actual surveillance cameras worked fine, the screens to view them on were faulty and small.
This past summer, Romeo built a custom DVR for the police department with 32 possible channels. About a week ago, he installed a larger, flat-screen monitor for dispatchers to watch what’s happening at the department. Before, Romeo said, the screen was only 13 inches wide. It has been replaced with a 40-inch monitor.
Rauzan said before this upgrade, there were only nine cameras at the department. Now, he said there will be between 25 and 30 cameras in the whole system at the police department, city hall and the courts.
Romeo said the police department paid him $684 to upgrade the camera system. Judith Clement, Campbell city administrator, said the cost of the upgrade was reasonable.
Rauzan said the new cameras already have caught arrestees trying to smuggle narcotics into the jail. After realizing the effectiveness of the new system, Rauzan recommended that both Campbell Mayor William VanSuch and the city administrator invest in the monitors.
“My big thing is to incorporate as many people as possible to feel like they’re part of the police station,” Rauzan said.
“Now, anything that goes on down in the police department can be seen upstairs,” Romeo said. He added that he installed the monitors and camera system for the Campbell Municipal Courts, as well, during Labor Day weekend. He said he was paid about $4,000 from Mahoning County for that job.
“The police chief has been pretty proactive in trying to bring us all up into the 21st century,” Clement said.
Since the police department updated its camera technology, Clement said the mayor has been looking into having all governmental departments in Campbell add cameras and monitors within the next couple of weeks.
In addition to updating the camera system, Rauzan said the police department received $17,500 in grant money near the end of June to put three mobile data-terminals in three police cruisers. He said he and Clement applied for the grant earlier this year.
“The MDT allows police Internet access from their cars,” Clement said. “They have all the information at their fingertips now, making things more efficient.”
Romeo said MDTs allow police to identify suspects faster and write reports from their cruisers, rather than writing them from the police department. Because of the technology updates, he said he thinks the department will have a new feel to it within months.
“All these things will help for quicker response times,” he said. “It’ll keep officers on the road more and out of the department.”