MANSFIELD — Proponents call it the first camera that sees like a detective.
Thanks to a $22,000 state grant, the Mansfield Police Department is going to spend the next year testing the developing Flock Safety technology.
Chief Keith Porch on Tuesday evening explained the fixed-camera system to City Council, which voted unanimously to accept the grant from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services Project Safe Neighborhood Program.
The MPD will mount seven automated license plate reader cameras at the major entrances and exits to the city.
The technology not only reads license plates, it also can detect a vehicle’s make, model and color, according to the chief.
It then sends information automatically and in real time to dispatchers and patrol officers in their cruisers when it detects a vehicle that is being sought by law enforcement.
“We’re gonna tackle it the same way as we’re doing with ShotSpotter (technology) for a test and evaluation period of one year, because it costs $2,500 per camera, per year,” Porch said.
He said the grant covers the cost for the year and that the department would seek additional grants if the technology proves worthwhile.
“We are going with Flock Safety, the same company that the City of Dayton, has used with tremendous results,” the chief said.
Dayton and other larger communities, such as the Shelby County Sheriff’s Dept. in Memphis, Tenn., have deployed many more cameras than will Mansfield.
But Porch said it’s a start.
“We are dipping our toes into the water here. I think seven is a good baseline for us to attempt this technology. It will help our current staff to better direct our resources where they are needed,” Porch said.
For example, if a car is reported stolen in Mansfield, or other communities, the information about the vehicle is entered into the national Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS).
If the Flock Safety camera detects that vehicle in the city, it will notify MPD and provide photo evidence, location, time, etc.
In another example, if a neighborhood has a string of thefts and residents can describe the vehicle, even without a plate number, that information can be entered into the system to include unique information like bumper stickers, decals and roof racks.
Armed with that information, the system will notify police if a vehicle matching those details is spotted by one of the cameras.
In January, a murder suspect from Nashville, Tenn., was arrested in Cobb County, Ga., some 250 miles away, after a Flock Safety camera identified his vehicle and notified police.
“We’ll just have to see if this system is a benefit for the city of Mansfield. I’m confident this is just another technology tool to become a force multiplier, like ShotSpotter,” Porch said.
“I think we’re inching toward catching up with the times,” the chief said.
“I think it’s a full range of crimes that the system would be able to help us eliminate, if not reduce,” Porch said.
