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Stolen vehicles will have a harder time rolling through the city with the Elgin Police Department’s new street equipment.
Elgin City Council approved a service agreement with Flock Safety last week, adding street-level vehicle identification cameras to the department’s toolbox.
“These are not surveillance cameras, they’re police tools. There’s a high standard of using the system,” said Chief of Police Chris Noble.
Flock Safety systems help detectives solve crimes after the fact by recording vehicles and license plates in set locations, storing data for up to 30 days, 24/7, according to a company representative who spoke at the council meeting.
The software also provides real-time alerts for stolen or wanted vehicles on the road, as well as cars tied to amber alerts, abductions or outstanding cases from other jurisdictions. Flock systems are connected to the National Crime Information Center and other municipalities utilizing the technology.
Cameras can already be found in neighboring cities like Taylor, Bastrop, Round Rock, Austin and Boerne.
“We’re kind of the doughnut hole, if you will, of municipalities that don’t have it and are looking to implement it,” added Noble.
Flock technology multiplies the force and eases limited police resources with strictly objective, secure and ethical information, according to the chief.
Cameras do not use facial recognition software or record people and aren’t used to enforce traffic laws. Flock Safety only captures photos of the rear end of vehicles and adheres to state laws, with highway placements being approved by TxDOT.
When searching for a car, officers can locate a vehicle based on license plate number, model, make and color, or by street name and time. There must be a valid law enforcement reason to utilize the software, and the program leaves a footprint of the officers and data retrieved to prevent abuse, according to Noble.
“Ultimately it takes the human bias out of it, and it is just computer generated research for images,” added Noble.
Elgin will be entering a pilot program with Flock Safety, leading to a two year contract. The city will be getting 13 cameras and access to nationwide data for $39,000 per year, with an additional $8,450 installation fee.
At year three and beyond the contract is up for negotiation, according to the representative.
Overall budget savings allow the city to front the bill until the end of the fiscal year, at which point it will be added into the new budget, according to City Manager Thomas Mattis.
Cameras will be spread across U.S. Highway 290 from city limit to city limit, down State Highway 95 and County Line Road. If found useful, the city can purchase more cameras for the downtown area, according to Noble.
“That is where the bulk of the traffic in our area traverses, and the bulk of the residents off of 1100 and county line road, for looking when and if there is either a burglary of a residence or construction material theft, as well as family violence, assaults and things of that nature in the new subdivisions,” said Noble.
Flock Safety has already proven successful in Central Texas, with a notable prevention of a “mass casualty event” when a threat was made towards the Tesla factory and the suspected vehicle was spotted and detained, according to Noble.
The chief plans to have a policy written for the new software within three months.
