Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said she views one of her primary responsibilities as doing “anything we can to stop the free flow of drugs through Westmoreland County and beyond.”
According to Murrysville police Chief Tom Seefeld, a significant portion of that flow comes through the “Gateway to Westmoreland County” along the Route 22 corridor, where police plan to install two license plate reader cameras thanks to funding that has come through Ziccarelli’s office.
Ziccarelli presented council with a check for just over $13,212, which will help fund the installation of two license plate reader cameras at either end of William Penn Highway in Murrysville.
“When I met with police chiefs in 30 municipalities before taking office, the number one thing they said they needed was additional communication,” Ziccarelli said. “If Chief Seefeld hadn’t reached out to me about this, it wouldn’t have happened because I didn’t know about it.”
The funding comes from the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Investigative Fund — money seized and forfeited through drug investigations. Seefeld said the remaining money was supplied by the police department through the sale of two department motorcycles.
License plate readers have become increasingly popular in Allegheny County, providing investigators with information crucial in solving several recent crimes, including a hit-and-run in late December in Tarentum that left a mother in critical condition and four violent robberies, including a March 6 shooting in Oakmont.
“I think it will be very effective in helping us investigate incidents and solve crimes,” Seefeld said.
