Steubenville police expand crime-fighting technology

STEUBENVILLE -- The Steubenville Police Department said grants it has received from the Mary Jane Brooks Charitable Trust have made the city a little safer for everybody.

During the past three years, the trust has committed more than $140,000 for departmental needs ranging from a drone and another K-9 officer (K-9 Ace) to track the missing and search for drugs, as well as license plate readers -- all of which police use if a child or endangered adult is missing, an Amber Alert is issued, if a vehicle is stolen or if there’s been a crime of violence.

“The Mary Jane Brooks Charitable Trust has allowed us to obtain the necessary technology and equipment to further our violent crime reduction strategy and public safety plan,” retired Chief Ken Anderson said. “Steubenville is a safer community thanks to their generosity and support.”

New Police Chief Wes Crawford says all three -- the drone, the K-9 and, especially, the plate readers -- are valuable investigative tools for police.

“We can know when a violent, wanted person comes through our city or a missing, endangered child or adult comes through our city,” Crawford said. “The fact that we can pick that up immediately is invaluable. Basically, it’s just a great tool for law enforcement.”

Capt. John Lemal said the cameras, especially, are a force multiplier for departments struggling with staffing.

“I think the general public’s under a misconception that we’re just monitoring license plates, but that’s not how it works,” Lemal said. “Plates are entered into the system -- maybe there’s a child who was taken out of another state in a certain vehicle or there’s an adult that maybe suffers from dementia or some type of mental disability, or maybe specific people are involved in a crime -- those are the types of things we look for -- we’re not monitoring random people. I think sometimes the general public thinks that’s what we’re using them for, but it’s not. Nobody wants the government staring over their shoulder, but that’s not what any of us are doing -- it’s specifically related to crime or endangered people and it’s absolutely a force multiplier when you don’t have the officers to be everywhere.”

Capt. Ettor Canestraro points out when you’re a crime victim -- say, your car is stolen or a loved one is missing -- “You expect the police to be able to help you.” He said the license plate readers make that much easier, noting that they do not use them for traffic violations or the like.

Anderson pointed out the tools provided by the trust have allowed officers to solve crimes and find endangered persons “a lot faster than in years past” and said the license plate readers, which offer real-time alerts, are a big part of that.

“The license plate readers are used in conjunction with our existing city cameras -- they’re all part of our public safety plan, our crime reduction plan,” he added. “We’ve been able to make arrests on multiple violent felonies within as little as 20 hours using those cameras. It’s all about public safety -- our job is to identify technology available first and foremost for public safety. We want to make sure that our detectives and our patrol officers have the equipment available that’s going to help them do their job, and the Mary Jane Brooks Charitable Trust has allowed us to do that. Their support has been invaluable.”

The trust was established in 2011. Managing Trustee R. Peterson Chalfant said Mary Jane Brooks, a lifelong resident of Steubenville, died May 26, 2009, at the age of 88.

“We really began making distributions in 2011, so this is arguably the 15th year we’ve been doing it,” he said.

Chalfant and trustee Dave D’Anniballe said they’ve been glad to assist with departmental needs, with the police department as well as Steubenville’s fire department. Chalfant’s son, Brooks, joined the board after the death of founding member Ned George.

“We give preference to organizations involved somewhat with health care in the Steubenville area,” Chalfant said. “That can be a pretty broad thing -- like the drone, for example. Obviously, that can be used in matters of health, and it’s the same with these cameras.”

D’Anniballe pointed out that reducing crime “increases the quality of life for our residents.”

“Every project we’ve done with them has had a significant impact on public safety and the services we’re able to provide to the public and businesses,” Anderson said.

Crawford said the department appreciates the partnership that’s developed between the trust and city.

“There’s numerous needs here that without support from a group like yours, would not be possible,” he said. “It’s very important to our mission as a police department to try to advance some of this technology.”