State College adding lots of cameras

STATE COLLEGE is expanding its system of downtown surveillance, adding 71 cameras to a network that's been in place for about a decade.

The Centre Daily Times reported yesterday that the new cameras will be installed in the borough building, in parking garages and around the downtown area.

The borough council recently approved a contract for the expansion project, which will also convert the system to wireless.

Borough manager Tom Fountaine tells the paper that live monitoring of the cameras is extremely rare. He says they're mostly viewed as a crime-solving tool.

Penn State has more than 2,000 cameras on its main campus, adjacent to State College borough.

The new cameras should be up and running by sometime this summer.