The view up 2nd Street from Forster Street, where a new security camera soon will capture the action.
A wireless security camera will be coming soon to Harrisburg’s Midtown neighborhood, as a community group has received a grant to extend the city’s video surveillance system.
Midtown Action Council (MAC) today announced it received a $15,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to help fund the extension of Harrisburg’s wireless security infrastructure to N. 2nd and Forster streets. Currently, the system’s downtown component ends at 2nd and Pine streets.
“Safety is our No. 1 priority as a community group, and it’s on the mind of every resident in Harrisburg,” said MAC President Jonathan Hendrickson. “This grant will help us access the infrastructure we need to eventually place wireless security cameras in the neighborhood.”
Before the system can be installed, MAC must raise $4,120 in matching funds. However, the organization is confident it can secure the funding for deployment this fall, said Dan Fulton, MAC’s secretary/treasurer.
“It should move pretty quickly,” he said.
In 2013, Harrisburg began deployment of a wireless security infrastructure, including 10 cameras downtown, Uptown and on Allison Hill, which allow city police and Dauphin County to conduct real-time surveillance. The $425,000 system was funded by Dauphin County’s Crime Task Force.
In Midtown, the first wireless camera will be installed facing north on 2nd Street, from the intersection with Forster Street.
Johnson Controls, which installed the city’s original system, also will deploy this one, Fulton said. The project includes a wireless node, camera mount, antenna, software, electrical improvements and one camera, among other components.
Fulton said this project “sets the stage” for future wireless cameras to be installed strategically through Midtown.
“This is just a first step, but it’s arguably the most important step because it gives us a foundation to build on,” said Fulton, who served as project manager for the grant, which MAC applied for last summer.
“It’s something we’re really proud of doing,” he added. “It’s one of the benefits of having these types of neighborhood organizations that are project-oriented.”
If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to MAC to cover its share of the matching grant, checks can be mailed to Midtown Action Council, 1230 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg, Pa., 17102.
Author: Lawrance Binda
