The details
Produced by public safety technology company Flock Safety, the cameras send real-time alerts to law enforcement officials if the license plate of a stolen car or car involved in a crime logged in a state or national crime database is detected, according to the news release. Alerts are also issued if a vehicle associated with an individual missing in an AMBER or Silver alert is detected.
“We believe the use of these Flock cameras will help us identify and locate stolen vehicles, assist our investigators with additional information and leads, and ultimately help us solve more crimes,” said Scott Gerdes, West Lake Hills police chief, in the news release.
The Flock cameras will be used to reduce property and violent crime, and will not be used for minor traffic or parking violations, the release states.
The cameras capture vehicle characteristics and license plates, but not people or faces, and the data is not shared with third parties, according to the news release. Each search of the data requires a justification, and data is deleted after 30 days, city information states.
The cost
The city administrator was authorized to sign a two-year contract with Insight Public Sector, a reseller of Flock products, at the Oct. 23 City Council meeting.
Totaling $59,850, the contract requires the city to pay $32,850 the first year of the contract, followed by $27,000 the following year, according to city documents. Funding for the first year was previously allocated in the city’s fiscal year 2024-25 budget passed in September, city documents show.
What’s next
Field operations and installation were scheduled to begin the first week of January, with the cameras slated to be operational Jan. 13.
More information on Flock cameras is available here.
