Plans are being made to purchase license plate reading cameras that will surveil fifteen areas around North Royalton, according to Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz. The North Royalton City Council again discussed the measure at its February 15 Safety Committee Meeting. “It will help our department,” said Antoskiewicz, “almost like putting another set of eyes. It allows us to track down people that have come into the city with bad intentions.”
License plate reading cameras were originally discussed at City Council’s November 16 Safety Committee meeting, where a presentation was given by the firm Flock Safety, a firm that started in Atlanta in 2017. These cameras are currently being used in Brunswick, Brooklyn, Independence and Westlake. The City of Broadview Heights also recently approved the lease of six cameras. “With more and more cities doing it, it leads to more safety,” said Antoskiewicz.
The Flock Safety System, like most of these types of systems, utilizes a cloud-based technology. North Royalton Police Chief Keith Tarase said that the motion-activated system takes two pictures of each vehicle. One picture would be of the entire back end of the vehicle, allowing for vehicle type recognition. The other picture would be a close-up picture of the license plate. Although the picture is not delivered in real time, it would take only seven to fifteen seconds to read and alert police to potential vehicles in question.
According to Tarase, the Flock Safety System would run the plates through the NCIC only, which is a database that would show active warrants, stolen vehicles and AMBER alerts. A car make and plate can also be added that would be of special interest, such as a robbery. The information is held in the cloud for a thirty-day period. Tarase also indicated that the information retrieved by the systems could be accessible to other law-enforcement agencies, even if they are not currently utilizing the system in their own jurisdictions. “The purpose of this technology is for use in criminal investigations and its use should be governed by strong policy,” said Tarase. “It will be my responsibility to ensure that the use of this technology is not abused or does not violate the rights of our residents.”
The original proposal suggested the City purchase 26 cameras, which would be installed at all entry points into the City. The others would be spread out throughout North Royalton, probably concentrating on the northern section of town. The Flock Safety System would initially cost the City an equipment fee of $250 per camera, then an additional $2,500 per camera, per year. The City would also bear the electrical and any other costs to install the cameras. Antoskiewicz said that the City will agree to lease the fifteen units, but did not indicate the locations specifically. The cost of the camera lease and set up is expected to cost about $41,250. Antoskiewicz said it would then cost $37,500 per year. He also said that they will also waive the cost of the actual installation of the infrastructure.
The discussion of the cameras remains on the agenda of Council’s Safety Committee, which next meets at City Hall on Tuesday, March 15.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer