Successful grant application to provide 40 additional security cameras in downtown Warren

Staff report

WARREN

A fight at the courthouse and a stolen pickup truck spurred a successful application by the Trumbull County commissioners and city to mount 40 surveillance cameras near buildings downtown.

The commissioners announced Thursday the Ohio Development Services Agency has awarded the county and city a $199,780 competitive grant through the Local Government Safety Capital Grant Program to purchase the equipment. The cameras will capture and record footage of high-crime locations downtown.

Commissioner Dan Polivka said the fight and theft of the personal vehicle of a county employee are among the incidents that led to the application, but the downtown area is “generally pretty safe.”

Warren will monitor the cameras at its buildings, and the Trumbull County Sheriff’s office will monitor the county buildings involved, Polivka said.

Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa said the county and city also will be able to view each other’s videos in a “shared linkage” arrangement. The cameras will be installed at 10 county and city buildings, but they will pick up activities a distance away.