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Stolen truck set off positive end result

Sometimes positive changes occur only when negative incidents hit close to home.

That’s what happened when Trumbull County Treasurer Sam Lamancusa’s personal pickup truck — a 1994 F-150 — was stolen from the county administration building parking lot in December 2016.

It was that incident that got Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins thinking about ways to improve security for people visiting the courthouse, downtown businesses and government offices.

“That is a beautiful area, and there are a lot of events there. We want the cameras situated to record in the event something happens,” Watkins said last week.

Soon after the theft of Lamancusa’s vehicle, Trumbull County secured a $200,000 Local Government Safety Grant to split with Warren. A large portion of those funds are being used to affix nine security cameras to poles in the downtown area, all at a cost of about $150,000.

While we have to wonder whether a similar crime against an average Joe would have triggered the same amount of attention or reaction from elected officials, at the end of the day, we are pleased to see an increased focus on safety and security.

Truly, whatever leads Trumbull County and Warren officials to seek grants to fund installation of surveillance cameras in the area of Warren’s Courthouse Square, we are supportive. Frankly, we are all for making downtown Warren safer for everyone — residents, visitors and workers.

Undoubtedly the cameras will serve as a deterrent to crime, and signs that likely will be erected to bring even more attention to the surveillance cameras will add to the deterrence.

As Watkins pointed out, the large majority of people here are law-abiding citizens. Unfortunately, there are others out there who lack respect for others’ rights.

Kudos for a collaborative effort between Warren and Trumbull County officials to secure and utilize the grant funds for a good purpose.

Now, if only we didn’t have to rely on security cameras to ensure unscrupulous passersby will keep their hands off the things that don’t belong to them.

editorial@tribtoday.com

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