PORTAGE, Mich. — Portage is increasing its efforts for a safer city after council members approved a one-year contractwith Flock Safety to install more license plate readers.
Currently, 20 license plate readers are capturing driver's license plates when they roll through an intersection. The plan is to add 10 more by 2024.
"70% of all crimes committed involve, in one shape— way, shape or form, the use of a vehicle," Portage Public Safety Director Nicholas Armold said.
Through the department's renewed partnership with Flock Safety, it's able to identify vehicles that may be involved in crimes.
"They don't take pictures of drivers or occupants of vehicles, they simply take a photo of a vehicle going through the intersection with the intent of trying to get the license plate," Armold explained.
The system reads the plate, stores it for 30 days, then deletes it.
"When we look at the photos that are taken, you can't see who's in it. So, it's just a tool to be able to give you some sort of actionable intelligence on a crime," he told FOX 17.
As of the end of October, the system had taken photos of about 33 million plates— public safety used about 60 of them to solve crimes. Armold says the data they collected helped solve an assault turned kidnapping in Kalamazoo.
"Our officers were able to locate the vehicle through using Flock. They were able to stop it and make an arrest of the individual who committed the kidnapping. We located the child in the back of the seat unharmed," he said, adding that they were able to do this in fewer than 20 minutes.
The system can be beneficial for crimes that happen at someone's home or amber alerts that include license plate details.
"It doesn't replace good old fashioned boots on the ground investigation, but it is a tool that gives us something to go on to try to solve whatever the crime was," he said.
The city is putting together a transparency portal on its website so residents can take a closer look at how data and stats are being used.
The one-year contract with Flock Safety is $82,500, and includes the new cameras. The total cost of a five-year contract would be $396,500.
