Transportation
BY JAKE MAGEE
League City police installing cameras along major roads to catch criminals
League City o cials want residents, especially drivers, to be aware of a new technology on city streets that will make it easier to catch and deter criminals. Several cameras from the company Flock Security, a private security camera company, have been installed across the city to read license plates, and they’re already helping police solve crimes, said Harold Lee, League City Police Department captain. Two-minute impact Beginning in December, League City police began installing Flock cameras along major roadways in the city. O cials declined to say exactly where they were installed so as to not tip o criminals. The cameras are positioned to capture the license plates of vehicles driving away from them. Scanned license plates are kept on le for 30 days before automatically being deleted. Police can use the technology to see if a vehicle matching a desired license plate has passed any of the cameras in the past month, which helps police in their investigations, Lee said. In fact, police used this technology to arrest the suspect of a murder on the city’s west side, he said. “That was our rst big lead,” Lee said, adding how it was a major selling point to him that many other agencies in the Houston area use Flock cameras. In addition to solving crimes, the cameras may help police nd missing people, such as children and elders, and deter crime from occurring. If criminals know League City has Flock cameras, they may decide to take their criminal activity elsewhere, Lee said.
The breakdown As of Aug. 24, police had installed 26 cameras across League City. In total, 42 will be installed. Each camera costs $2,500 per year, Lee said, for a total annual cost of $105,000. This doesn’t include the homeowners associa- tions and private businesses working with police to get their own Flock cameras. The Mar Bella HOA has received four Flock cameras, and other HOAs and businesses will soon receive their own, Lee said. In their own words Lee compared the Flock camera technology to the breakthrough in using DNA evidence to solve crimes. “We’re going to be solving so many more cases now,” he said. “It’ll give us leads that we didn’t have before.” Also of note Lee said he understands some may be concerned this technology will be used to spy on residents. Lee assured the public that’s not the case. “I understand the reasoning behind it, but we’ve put in some safeguards to make sure that doesn’t happen,” he said. What’s next Police may one day get Flock technology in their dashboard cameras. In 2024, Axon, the company that provides League City police’s dashboard cameras, will merge technol- ogy with Flock. Lee said he hopes some of Flock’s license plate-reading technology will be available on police’s dashboard cameras.
Flock cameras will be used to scan license plates to help police investigate major crimes.
COURTESY CITY OF LEAGUE CITY
League City Flock cameras League City police will install 42 cameras citywide at a cost of $2,500 each per year.
26 installed as of Aug. 24
16 to be installed
Flock cameras
SOURCE: LEAGUE CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY IMPACT
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