Lang
8/1/24
The city of North Liberty began installing Flock Safety license plate recognition cameras this week.
In total, 12 of the cameras will be installed at entry points to North Liberty. According to the service provider, the cameras send a real-time alert to law enforcement when a stolen car or known wanted suspect from a state or national crime database is detected. They also send alerts if a vehicle associated with a missing person in an AMBER or Silver Alert is detected.
Flock Safety says its cameras are in use in more than 5,000 communities across the country, and the company works with over 3,000 police departments. Locally, the cameras are already in use at the University of Iowa. They are also currently in-use in the Des Moines metro area.
North Liberty officials say the city’s police department will not begin receiving alerts before they have approved a policy for the cameras’ use and command staff and officers have been trained in the system.
City officials stress the cameras are not traffic enforcement devices and do not detect speed or red-light violations. They also cannot recognize facial features, and the data retrieved will not be shared with third parties and is deleted within 30 days.
The camera technology was recently approved by the North Liberty City Council unanimously as part of the city’s annual budget.