Share Share Share Pittsburgh police shared an update Thursday on increased patrols in downtown Pittsburgh, which were put in place in July. It’s part of a "high-visibility” initiative in Downtown Pittsburgh, which Chief Larry Scirotto said aims to deter crime and make the area safer. "We increased the visibility and engagement of our officers in those areas that we know are most problematic to us based on some of the behaviors of people that are coming to downtown with no purpose other than to cause chaos and ensuring that they're held accountable for that,” Scirotto said. Since July 15, Scirotto said there have been more than 150 arrests, most of them related to drug activity. Police have issued more than 235 non-traffic citations and more than 75 traffic citations. Officers have also recovered three firearms. "Over the course of this short period, our officers have engaged in a multitude of enforcement efforts, and we don't just work on arrest as the benchmark of success. We work and focus on engagement as a benchmark of success, and how community and business owners and residents feel our efforts are impacting the way they feel about safety on a daily basis,” Scirotto said. Several business owners told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 off-camera they haven’t seen a difference. C.C. Clark, owner of Clarkfit Boxing and Fitness, said he has seen a shift. "I 100% have noticed that there's way more police officers in the presence of downtown, and I feel like it's actually not that bad, and I think it kind of keeps the riff-raff out a little bit and it keeps everybody on the right track,” Clark said. Dale Labby said he has noticed improvements in Market Square, but his concerns are elsewhere when walking to and from work. "They could use it on other streets down here too, like up on Smithfield Street. They still need patrols up there. Liberty Avenue, they still need patrols down there, too,” Labby said. William Sandoval, a server at Las Velas, said positive police interactions have increased significantly. "A police officer came every day, like, just asking if we're OK, we're doing fine,” Sandoval said. This initiative pulls officers from K-9, motorcycle and violence prevention units, across all shifts.