Greensburg council to vote on body-worn camera grant, event approval process

Greensburg is expected to outfit its police force with its first set of body-worn cameras.

City council will vote next week to accept a $140,000 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development to purchase 27 body-worn cameras — one for each of its police officers, said Chief Chuck Irvin.

Police vehicles have been equipped with dashboard cameras for some time and body-worn cameras are the natural next step, Irvin said.

“Body-worn cameras are something that has been coming for a long time and will continue to come. It’s the wave of the future in policing,” he said. “It actually offers us a better investigative tool as well as increases public trust in our department that everything is transparent.”

Streamlining event approval

Council will also vote to approve a special events ordinance, which would create a formal approval process for people who want to host events on city property or streets.

Up to this point, organizers have approved their events through the city administrator.

“Essentially just whenever someone wants to use city property or wants to close down streets, they submit an application, and it just confirms what we’ve already been doing,” said Solicitor Zachary Kansler.

“It just makes sure that they put on paper what they want to use, when they want to use it and what they are going to do,” he said. “That way public works, the police department, everyone can look at it and make sure they have the manpower to accomplish what needs to be accomplished.”

The application will help organizers know what the city needs from them prior to the event, Kansler said.

“We’ve heard positive things back from the event managers, because they also would like something formal so they know exactly what’s expected of them,” he said.

There would be no fee associated with the application, Kansler said.