League City to double number of surveillance cameras
By Myrian Orea
The Galveston County Daily News
Mar 4, 2024
LEAGUE CITY, Texas -- The city is increasing the number of its video surveillance cameras by more than 50, to almost 100 total, citing the devices as proven crime-fighting tools.
The city already was operating 42 Flock license plate reading cameras and Friday began work to install 28 more cameras along roads and in parks and about 25 cameras in neighborhoods, police said.
The cameras had helped to solve numerous crimes, Capt. Harold Lee, commander of the Investigation Bureau at the League City Police Department, said.
Flock cameras installed during a first round in 2023 helped law enforcement make 25 arrests, recover 15 stolen vehicles and find two missing persons, according to department documents.
The cameras helped identify charges for crimes such as motor vehicle theft, carjacking, burglary, aggravated assault, identity theft and others, Lee said.
City council approved the multi-use agreement in January 2023 with Flock Safety.
Flock’s cameras read the license plates of vehicles traveling on public roads and automatically notifies local law enforcement when a vehicle or license plate has been reported stolen, according to the city.
Detectives can use information from the cameras to help determine which vehicles were in the area at the time a crime was committed. That helps investigators identify potential victims, suspects and witnesses who could be instrumental in solving the case, according to the city.
“We installed our first round of cameras blanketing the majority of the city in the major roadways,” Lee said. “The second round of installations will kind of fill in those gaps and focus on some of the local parks as some of the other areas where we’ve seen some burglaries and an increase in crimes that we believe the cameras will help solve.”
The cameras coats $2,500 each per year, Lee said.
Installing the 42 cameras, and a 24-month lease, cost the city $233,400, an expense the city council approved in December 2022.
“There is not a week that goes by that we don’t see payback on that investment,” Mayor Nick Long said Thursday during a state-of-the-city meeting. “These cameras are our way of increasing our ability to respond faster and in a more precise manner.”
The council also approved a resolution authorizing the Neighborhood Flock Camera Initiative in December 2023 and will provide $200,000 over a 24-month lease for an estimated 37 cameras on a first-come, first-serve basis, according to city documents.
To apply, homeowners associations will need to submit a written request to the department accompanied by meeting minutes or a board resolution that indicates support for the initiative.
Through the grant program, many homeowners associations already have signed up for funding. The department plans to have 25 of those cameras installed soon, Lee said.
“I lead our Investigations Bureau, so I see the backside where we’re investigating crimes after they have occurred,” Lee said. “Already, it’s become a resource for our investigators that we hadn’t had prior to 2023. It allows us to have another investigative tool to pursue leads and identify suspects.”
2 comments:
I wonder if the sale of paint ball guns will go up correspondingly ?
Once the camera has taken the pic, it can't be removed from the cloud. That being said some folks don't like being tracked. Because that's what is happening. Movements are being tracked. It doesn't matter to me because I know traffic cameras at intersections, residential and business cameras are also canvassed by detectives when investigating crime. If a person drives down my dead end street no less than 4 cameras pic up the vehicle or persons. They even use them to find lost pets. If you think living in a rural area eliminates being tracked, you would be wrong. Most TxDot construction areas use them with LPR's. They are also mounted on flashing School Zone signs. Most are grant funded. (ABC)
Post a Comment