Pittsburgh police are amping up patrols Downtown. Here's what that looks like.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- As early as next week, there will be more police in Downtown Pittsburgh.
In addition to cruisers with lights on patrolling the streets overnight, dozens more officers will be in the Golden Triangle. Chief Larry Scirotto and his department made the decision after a series of attacks in broad daylight since May.
Right now there are 20 police officers assigned full-time to Downtown Pittsburgh, up from 10 last summer. The new plan will see between 13 and 24 more officers patrolling Downtown too.
The additional officers come from the K-9 and motorcycle units. They'll patrol in two shifts from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 2 p.m. to midnight. There will also be up to ten more officers patrolling from the violence prevention unit and a cruiser driving around Downtown overnight from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. with its police lights on for increased visibility.
Zone 2 Commander Tim Novosel, who oversees Downtown, stresses that he wants people who live, work and visit Downtown Pittsburgh to feel safe and says people should think of the increased police presence as a full-time version of the South Side patrols on the weekend.
"We've had incidents in the last year but it's also limited too and we don't have that many incidents. It's not like every day. I come Downtown on my personal time, I know a lot of people do. I would never warn anyone about not coming Downtown," Novosel said.
"More visibility I think will help," he added. "I mean, that can't hurt. A cop closer, a police officer in the area is gonna help more. Someone might see that and you know, some of these things have been mental issues, and we're dealing with that with other partners too."
Novosel says they modeled the increased patrols and higher visibility after several cities that have seen success with the strategy, including Memphis, Orlando and Fairfax, Virginia. He also says Pittsburgh police will be sharing the stats of what they do Downtown, just like the South Side patrols do.
