Lowellville council considers security camera purchase for monitoring public spaces

By Sarah Lehr

slehr@vindy.com

LOWELLVILLE

“Big Brother is here,” Mayor James Iudiciani said at a special village council meeting this week.

Council is in the early stages of considering placing video-surveillance cameras in public places throughout the village.

Iudiciani suggested the village weigh the costs and benefits of implementing a camera system in one or a few of the village’s “hot spots.”

An area extending from the front of the school complex at Rocket Place to Section 8 apartments on West Wood Street through Youngstown Metropolitan Authority Housing would be Iudiciani’s first priority, but he also raised the possibility of installing additional cameras in other areas such as near the Falcon Foundry Co. on Sixth Street.

Robert Dietl, a representative of Cyclops Technology Group, presented the proposal to lawmakers.

The price to rent a camera and its attachments would be subject to negotiation, but Dietl said the village could offset some of the cost by seeking advertising.

Cyclops Technology Group has not yet sold any camera systems in Ohio, Dietl said, but private and public customers, including universities, gated communities and businesses, have purchased the cameras.

Police officers could review video footage after a suspected crime, Dietl said, and they also could connect to a live video feed on demand.

In response to a question about privacy and Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, Iudiciani said the village would look into privacy issues, but that he believed the security value of the surveillance cameras would be a net benefit.

Several councilman expressed concerns about cost, and Lisa Donofrio, a Lowellville school board member, asked about the possibility of someone hacking into the system.

Council voted to send the camera proposal to its safety committee for further study.

Council also set trick-or-treat hours in the village from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.