Camera system should benefit Mentor police

It’s a good thing when police departments can obtain new, high-tech devices in their quest to fight crime.

That’s why we were interested to learn in a recent News-Herald story that the Mentor community already is reaping the rewards of new crime-solving aids installed around town.

The story noted that 13 of 15 Flock Safety System cameras are now operating at strategic locations in the city and have led to at least three arrests. Cases involved a stolen vehicle, which was recovered, an outstanding warrant and possession of drugs.

“We are not always able to locate the vehicle by the time we get to the last known location,” Chief Ken Gunsch said.

One of the final two cameras to go live will be solarpowered, and the vendor is configuring it and several others to work more efficiently.

“As the remaining cameras come online and the officers complete training, I anticipate more activity attributed to the Flock system,” the chief said. “We have set up a tracking system so we will be able to determine at the end of the year how much enforcement activity was a direct result of Flock notifications.”

The devices are designed to read the license plates of every passing automobile.

“These readers will continuously scan tens of thousands of vehicles daily and automatically run those plates through the FBI’s National Crime Information Center via a Cloud server,” City Manager Ken Filipiak said, at his state of the city address last month. “If a hit occurs, our police officers are immediately notified in their vehicles and can quickly attempt an apprehension. The cameras also a provide video recording of the vehicles, which can serve as both evidence and aid in establishing an investigation timeline.”

It is common for criminals to steal a car in one city and drive it to another in order to commit a worse crime, he noted.

“If that car is identified as stolen through the license plate reader on its way into our city, we can be looking for it immediately before another crime happens,” Filipiak said. “Some agencies using this technology report a one-third drop in calls for service by targeting crime hot spots.”

The cameras are located at the main entrances to the city along Interstate 90 and Route 2, and on Route 20 between Routes 615 and 306, to cover a large portion of the retail district, police Capt. Robert Valley said.

In addition, they have been placed along Tyler Boulevard, the city’s main manufacturing corridor.

“Once the (whole) system is operational and we are able to evaluate the effectiveness at these locations, we could possibly make some changes,” Valley said.

The city can also access cameras deployed by private entities, such as homeowners associations and local businesses, to help identify suspicious vehicles in the area if a crime has been committed, Gunsch said.

It is a shared system with any agencies that use it. Others in Lake County with the system include Mentor-on-theLake, Willoughby and Eastlake.

He called it cost-effective technology that will help keep the community safe. The cameras are $2,500 each for a total cost of $37,500.

Gunsch learned of the system when a Flock Safety representative gave a presentation at the Lake County Association of Chiefs of Police last year.

In conclusion, we applaud the city of Mentor — and the other area communities — for purchasing the Flock Safety camera system to assist the Police Department in its crime-fighting efforts. We also look forward to hearing from Gunsch by the end of 2021 about how much enforcement activity is attributed directly to Flock notifications.

Here’s hoping that these devices prove to be valuable in helping to recover stolen cars and putting the brakes on dangerous criminals who are driving through Mentor.