Crafton mayor/staff recommend cameras, license-plate readers; suggest funding Public Works and borough-building systems from bond funds

Crafton staff presented an equipment and public-safety proposal at the Sept. 24 workshop that includes new cameras for the Public Works building, borough building and pool house, plus possible license-plate readers at multiple borough locations.

Staff said the current camera systems are a mix of older analog systems, with only the Burrell Building cloud system connected, and that moving to IP-based, cloud-linked cameras with a CNVR (cloud/network video recorder) would let police and staff search footage more efficiently and receive automated alerts. Staff told council the Public Works Building currently has no cameras and recommended installing a new system there as soon as the building is complete this fall.

The police chief has asked for LPRs in nine or ten locations; staff said a quote for those devices is not yet available and that the LPRs represent a larger investment. Staff suggested removing the Public Works and borough-building camera items from the general-fund decision list and funding them from the bond fund this year; several council members, including Mike, voiced support for that approach. Council also discussed leaving cameras for parks and LPRs on the decision list for future prioritization and quotes.

Staff said installing cloud-linked cameras would allow officers to pull video on mobile devices, search footage with analytics (example given: searching for a particular car by description), and receive alerts for off-hours activity. No formal vote was held; staff said they would remove the recommended camera lines from the decision list if council confirmed the bond-fund approach and would obtain quotes for the remaining items.