City getting license plate-reading cameras
LANCASTER — The City of Lancaster will spend $142,500 on a one-year subscription service for 50 automated license plate-reading cameras to assist the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lancaster Station with criminal investigations.
The cameras are made by Flock Safety, a public safety technology company founded, in 2017. The company’s cameras can capture and process
30,000 vehicles, per day, and capture two lanes of traffic simultaneously with a single camera, according to a staff report by Public Safety Director Rodrick Armalin.
Flock Safety’s automated license plate reading cameras analyze vehicle license plates, vehicle color and vehicle make, as well as objects such as roof rack and hubcaps, based on image analytics, which protects against stolen/ removed license plates, the report said. The software transmits alerts for wanted plates and can set up alerts based on vehicle description without the need for a license plate.
“The software makes actionable evidence when needed that is easily searchable by vehicle type, make, model, color, timeframe, partial/ full license plate and object detection,” Armalin wrote. “This technology will aid the Sheriff’s Department to more accurately detect and stop the actual vehicle used in a crime, instead of similar looking vehicles. This will not only save law enforcement time in the investigation of criminal activity, but also help prevent the unnecessary stops and detentions of motorists who are driving vehicles which may look similar to wanted vehicles, but are truly uninvolved in criminal activity.”
The cameras do not use facial recognition technology nor record any personally identifiable information such as names, addresses or phone numbers.
Lancaster will own its data. Flock Safety does not sell the data to third parties. The camera footage is stored, secured and encrypted in the cloud and automatically deleted after 30 days on a rolling basis. The cameras only take photos, there is no live feed.
The subscription service includes a one-year lease of the cameras at $2,500 per camera and a one-time $350 per-camera installation fee. Additional years, if the city should continue the service, will cost $125,000.
The City Council, at the Nov. 8 meeting, approved the subscription service on a 4-0 vote, with Councilman Raj Malhi absent.