The village board in Lake in the Hills has approved the police department’s request to purchase automated license plate reader cameras in an effort to help solve crime.
The Lake in the Hills Police Department began exploring the use of automated license plate reader cameras, known as ALPRs, in early 2022.
The department entered into a memorandum of understanding with Flock Safety, which allowed the agency to have access to their database free of charge.
The Flock database is populated by government and private ALPR cameras and allows agencies to search the database using specific search parameters, such as vehicle license plate, make and model or body type.
Police officials said temporarily having access to the Flock Safety database had been “extremely useful” in investigating and solving crimes occurring in the village.
Detectives were able to use the database to solve a felony theft case from a business in the village with only a partial license plate and description of the vehicle.
“Additionally, access to the database has proven very valuable in the enforcement of laws governing cannabis and controlled substances and is routinely used by narcotics detectives investigating those cases,” police officials said.
The Flock Safety database beginning in January was no longer offered for free to agencies that did not have Flock ALPR cameras.
Police officials said the purchase and utilization of ALPR cameras would help with solving a wide array of crimes as well as help in missing persons investigations.
Law enforcement officers will be notified within seconds should a vehicle pass by one of the cameras.
The cameras take still photos that focus on vehicles and are not intended to capture photos of people or speeds of vehicles, police officials said.
Many other cities in the Chicago area already use Flock ALPR cameras, including Huntley, Crystal Lake and McHenry.
Lake in the Hills is set to purchase 12 cameras at 11 locations throughout the village. They will be located in places with high traffic volumes or “key locations” where vehicles enter the town.
The village will pay $42,800 for the first year with money from criminal investigation seizures. The annual cost will be $36,000 after the first year.
The Lake in the Hills Village Board discussed the topic with Deputy Police Chief Matthew Mannino for over 15 minutes before ultimately voting to approve the Flock agreement during a board meeting Thursday evening.