Jun 4, 2016 5 min read

Sitting near a large screen where he can access a bank of about three dozen surveillance cameras strategically placed throughout Donora, police Superintendent James Brice said most people would not be able to fathom what goes on in the borough.

“You wouldn’t believe what we see,” Brice said. “It is like we can be 36 different places at the same time. We can tell the responding officer what is going on before he even gets there.”

These cameras, used by Donora and several other police departments in Washington County, help solve crimes, keep an eye on suspected drug transactions, track missing persons and sort out what really happened in vehicle crashes.

Brice did not want to divulge specific locations of the cameras, but said they are throughout the borough, the Highland Terrace housing project and in Palmer Park.

Washington police Lt. Daniel Stanek said there are multiple cameras throughout the city that transmit in real time to monitors at the station.

“We started out with one and now we have expanded the number to about a dozen,” Stanek said. “They have proved to be a useful tool.”

In Chartiers Township, four cameras monitor one busy intersection, and police Chief James Horvath wants to add more, saying they have proved useful.

Brice said in Donora, police spotted criminal mischief, assaults and sex acts taking place in the park. “We have seen some drug transactions and were able to make some arrests,” he added.

“When we set up the cameras, we tried to do it so as many school bus stops as possible were covered,” Brice said, adding the department has surveillance of at least eight stops. “We have seen kids get off the school bus and get into drugs.”

“These cameras go 360 degrees around and goes up and down,” he added. “One of the cameras can zoom out so we can see across the Monongahela River. We can zoom on the Stan Musial Bridge all the way across into Westmoreland County.”

Brice said the camera once showed 26 vehicles passing by a man who planned to jump from the bridge before one motorist stopped, went over the barrier and pulled him to safety.

Insurance companies as well as police often use surveillance footage as part of the investigation into crashes. “They will ask if we can download footage of a crash on a disc,” he said.

The cameras helped the borough save money on insurance claims. Brice said on one snowy day last winter, the video captured a tractor-trailer slide down a hill, hit a truck and a light pole and keep on going.

“We were able to track the truck down to the MIDA Industrial Park,” Brice said. “That is just one incident where the camera paid for itself.”

Cameras also helped the borough avoid paying an insurance claim by a person who said he fell outside the borough building. Surveillance footage clearly showed the person did not fall, said Mayor Don Pavelko.

“We had cameras way before many municipalities,” he said. “We try to be very proactive.”

Businesses have also given police access to their surveillance cameras.

“They have allowed us to link to their cameras, which gives us another set of eyes,” Brice said.

Washington police Chief Robert Wilson said the city’s cameras helped solve several crimes.

Stanek said while cameras did not capture the April 2014 murder of 10-year-old Ta’Niyah Thomas, they were useful in helping set up a timeline that led to the arrests of four men who were eventually found guilty in her death.

“We were able to come back and look and know when they had gone to Lincoln Terrace,” Stanek said. “We can see them getting in the car together and stopping for gas at the BP in Meadow Lands.”

Stanek said it is important to have cameras placed in locations where they can “get the most bang for their buck.”

In one case, Stanek said one camera captured images that allowed investigators to receive information on how many people were in a house before a planned raid the next day.

Wilson said the department also discussed the possibility of encouraging business owners to set up cameras that could be linked to the city’s camera system.

The intersection where West Pike Street meets with Allison Hollow and Racetrack roads in Chartiers Township has been monitored by four cameras trained in four directions since September.

The police department was able to purchase the cameras thanks to money raised by Miraculous Medal Church in Meadow Lands during a safety fair as well as a generous parishioner who covered the balance of the cost.

Horvath said they have already proved useful, particularly in determining what happened in crashes where a dispute over fault occurs.

“I’d like to reach out to businesses in the township about putting up cameras,” Horvath said. “It can only help them.”

“I also want to talk with the Washington County Fair Board. The fairgrounds are one of our major concerns,” he added.

He said he would also like to place a camera on one of the roads near the North Main Street venue. “I have a fear of a child getting snatched,” Horvath said.

While the cameras aren’t cheap, Brice said, “they are worth every penny.”

“They sure have helped us solve a lot of crimes,” he added.