PORTAGE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Portage will be expanding their network of automatic license plate readers from 20 cameras to 30 to help them fight crime.
The system automatically reads the plate on every vehicle that passes by one of the cameras and stores it for 30 days.
Public Safety Chief Nicolas Armold says if there is a crime, it may help them identify the getaway car, and possible suspects.
He says the system has already led them to a suspect in a shooting last year near I-94 and Oakland that left one dead and two wounded.
He says there are strict and limited policies for its use in solving crimes, to protect privacy.
Armold says it can also alert officers when licenses on stolen vehicles and cars used in crimes in other communities pass by.
He says the city and township of Kalamazoo, the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department and Western Michigan University have similar systems already in place, or soon will have them, and they can be linked together.
The Portage council has agreed to a one year contract with Flock Cameras for $82,500, with an option for four more years.
