Lowell City Council held a special joint meeting with the Downtown Development Authority board last night. On the agenda was a proposal to install Flock Safety cameras to monitor traffic entering the city. The meeting convened shortly after 5:30pm, and all members from both the council and DDA board were present.
City Considers Flock Safety Cameras
The city is considering the purchase of four cameras – one for each major access point of the city – and would like the DDA to pick up the cost for the three cameras that would fall within its boundaries. The fourth camera would be paid for by the city.
The total cost for four cameras, which are paid for via a subscription model, would be $14,000 in the first year, which includes installation. During the second year of a two-year agreement, the cost would be $12,000. The city has already included funds for the camera in its budget.
Sgt. Gordy Lauren of the Lowell Police Department first became aware of the cameras and suggested the city consider adding them. “This is becoming a very invaluable tool for police agencies nationwide,” he said when introducing the proposal.
Matt Wayne, a territory sales manager from Flock Safety, then provided an overview of the service. He explained that the cameras use license plate recognition software to take an image of every vehicle on the road. If there is an active alert placed on a vehicle – such as via an Amber Alert or the FBI’s National Crime Information Center – then local law enforcement will be notified, usually within 7-10 seconds.
Otherwise, images are stored in a secured cloud application for 30 days before they are automatically deleted.
“99.999% of images will never see the light of day,” Wayne said. If there isn’t an alert on a vehicle, the only way an image can be accessed is if an officer does a search of the database. To do so, an officer must include a reason for the search, such as a case file number, and search records are audited quarterly to ensure images aren’t being accessed for improper purposes.
In addition to looking up a license plate number, officers can search for vehicles by description. According to Wayne, this can be helpful in investigations when a witness might have some information about a vehicle but not a plate number. Wayne noted that the cameras don’t use facial recognition and aren’t used for speed or traffic enforcement.
Questions About Flock Safety Cameras
DDA Chair Jim Reagan asked if the cameras would take photos of pedestrians or cyclists. Wayne replied that the cameras are focused on the middle of the road and motion activated so it is possible that someone in the roadway could trigger a photo. However, since they wouldn’t have a license plate or vehicle features, the image wouldn’t result in an alert or be searchable among image records.
Noting that the cameras are powered by a solar panel with rechargeable batteries, DDA board member Brian Doyle asked about how the cameras work in the winter when there is limited sunlight. Wayne said that it took some trial and error, but the company believes they have a system in place that works for Michigan winters. However, staff monitors the performance of cameras and if they see that batteries aren’t getting enough of a recharge from the solar panel, they will swap them out for fresh batteries.
Councilmember Marty Chambers asked about snow and ice build-up, and Wayne said the cameras have a hood and are pointed downward. He hadn’t heard of accumulation being a problem in other West Michigan communities using the system.
DDA board member Eric Bartkus asked Wayne if Flock Safety had been subject to any lawsuits regarding its system and what he thought was its biggest challenge. The representative replied there were no lawsuits, and he thought the biggest challenge was that many people had misconceptions about what the cameras do.
DDA board member Rick Seese asked what reasons communities give when they cancel the service. “I have not had one customer come on with us who cancelled,” Wayne said in response.
DDA board member Nicole Lintemuth read a section of the Flock Safety data sharing agreement found online and asked if that was still in effect. Wayne said he would have check with the legal department to confirm, but that, in general, the local police department dictates what information is shared and with whom.
Lintemuth also asked what databases were used for the alerts, and Wayne said their system taps into the FBI’s NCIC and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Beyond that, alerts would only come from other local law enforcement agencies that had agreements in place with Lowell.
Since alerts are usually sent to officers within 10 seconds, Lintemuth wondered why the images needed to be stored for 30 days. Wayne said that some of the company’s competitors stored images for two years, but Flock Safety felt 30 days was long enough to give law enforcement agencies time to search for and download any images they may need for active investigations.
Lintemuth also asked about how many times the Lowell Police Department would expect to use data from the system. Lauren said he could think of a handful of times when it would have been helpful to have the technology in place. Mayor Mike DeVore added that he thought the cameras would also be helpful as a deterrent to future crime.
“I look at it as a very inexpensive additional officer,” said Councilmember Cliff Yankovich.
No vote was held last night, but the matter will come before the DDA for further consideration at their meeting this Thursday. The special meeting adjourned at 6:41pm.
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