Eye in the Sky, Looking at You, They can Read Your Plates
Flock Safety Brings Private Camera Network Security to Hilliard Policing
Rockwell (among other musicians and with a little help from a famous friend) told us in the 1980s “Somebody’s Watching Me.”
Hilliard police hope would-be criminals can be made to feel that way with the placement of 11 security cameras to be strategically placed at freeway entrances and other high-traffic areas.
Manufactured by Flock Safety, the cameras record the license plate numbers of passing vehicles and are also known as automated license plate readers, or ALPRs.
“We are hoping that once the bad guys know we have it, it will reduce the number of times they come into our city,” Hilliard Police Chief Michael Woods said.
Funds for the project were included in Hilliard’s 2023 operating budget.
The cost is not to exceed $40,000, according to David Ball, director of community relations for the City of Hilliard.
The subscription agreement with Flock Safety is to be annual and the first agreement is effective upon its execution.
“The city is working through the signature process now which is likely to be complete in the next couple of weeks,” said Andrea Litchfield, a spokeswoman for the Hilliard Division of police.
After the contract is approved, Hilliard is to be added to the installation list.
“We don’t have a specific date when installation will occur but we expect it will be over the next couple of months,” Litchfield said.
Among other cities that have or are to implement such cameras are the cities of Upper Arlington, Whitehall and Worthington.
The City of Worthington is to install 10 Flock-manufactured cameras in the Huntley Road corridor.
The solar –powered, motion-activated Flock cameras utilize patented “Vehicle Fingerprint” technology to search by not only license plate but distinguishing characteristics such as roof racks and bumper stickers, according to its Website.
The cameras are utilized by law enforcement and school districts, construction-site and residential real estate managers, and commercial businesses, according to the Website.
Worthington Acting City Manager Robyn Stewart said there has been “a series of thefts for a number of years” at commercial areas in the Huntley Road corridor.
“We have been looking at strategies that can be effective in that corridor in reducing the impacts to those businesses,” Stewart said.
One such strategy is the placement of ALPRs, Worthington Acting Police Chief Eric Grile said.
Unlike cameras already in use on private property at multiple locations, the 10 cameras Worthington are to be placed in the public-right-of-way and clearly visible to anyone who gives more than a glance, Grile said.
“They will be obvious, they are not hidden,” and have been successful in reducing criminal activity in other central Ohio communities such as Whitehall, Grile said.
The cameras are not to be used for traffic enforcement or civil purposes nor are they designed for stealth but rather to make the nefarious type aware they are under surveillance and hopefully deter the crime altogether or cause such people to go elsewhere, Grile said.
The information is to be stored for 30 days and accessible only by law enforcement, including Worthington police, the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to Grile.
Records are maintained to document access to the camera’s data storage.
While a primary goal of the ALPRs is to deter misdemeanor crimes such as theft, collected data can also be used for criminal investigations including stolen vehicles and missing children, Grile said.
Hilliard Police Chief Michael Woods said he sees similar uses for the cameras.
There are multiple benefits of the Flock camera system, which will enhance the City’s existing traffic camera system. We believe the system itself can serve as a deterrent for criminals looking for a location to engage in criminal activity.
The cameras will also assist in investigations when officers and detectives are trying to locate suspect vehicles by make, color, or registration.
Woods recalled two past shooting instances when the cameras would have been particularly useful: one took place near Interstate 270 and another at Weaver Court North.
“In both incidents, the shootings occurred at night with minimal traffic. Flock also provides a vehicle fingerprint which will alert law enforcement when a vehicle wanted by the National Crime Information Center or a vehicle that HPD or other local jurisdictions have entered, drives by a camera,” Woods said.
Such information can be shared, for example, between Hilliard and Upper Arlington, to watch for a vehicle entering one of the jurisdictions from another, Woods said.
Woods said 11 cameras is a good starting point.
“We will evaluate after a year and go from there.”
