Irwin considers adding surveillance cameras along Main Street

If you are walking in downtown Irwin in the near future, smile, because you could be on a candid camera.

Irwin Police Chief Dan Wensel on Tuesday received permission from council to explore the costs of placing two surveillance cameras along the borough’s Main Street for what the chief said was “a community safety issue.”

“It’s an extra level of safety and security,” Wensel said.

He said the cameras, possibly placed at Third and Fourth streets at the intersection with Main Street, would be mounted so that they could swivel and provide video of activity from Second to Fifth streets.

Footage would be available for officers to view from a monitor in the police station along Main Street and on their phones, Wensel said.

The chief said he’s not aware of any municipality in Westmoreland County with police-monitored surveillance cameras. However, Jeannette does have cameras that are monitored by police.

The video could provide a record of incidents such as pedestrians falling in the street, minor vehicle accidents and severe assaults, Wensel said. A man was stabbed outside The Lamp Theatre in December 2020 after a dispute in a bar along Main Street.

The surveillance cameras also could be useful when there are events in the downtown business district that draw large crowds.

Councilwoman Leslie Savage said she was concerned about surveillance camera videotaping people in public as an “invasion of privacy.”

“You don’t want video tape, until, God forbid, something happens,” Wensel said.

Borough Manager Shari Martino said West Penn Power would have to be contacted to hardwire the camera system, rather than having the video transmitted and possibly subject to hacking.

A policy would be developed, Wensel said, that would include erasing any footage after 30 days.