Donation helps Wilmington PD secure additional license plate reading cameras

The Wilmington Police Department has received $5,000 to put toward its new license plate reader program.

The donation was made last week by Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow and D’Orazio Ford for the purchase of four high-tech automated license plate reading (ALPR) cameras to help solve and reduce crime in the city.

The cameras are provided by Atlanta-based Flock Safety, who owns and maintains the cameras while the city essentially rents the feed for $2,500 each per year. Footage is kept in the system for one month before it is purged. The WPD can download whatever footage it needs, and keep that footage in its own storage indefinitely.

The Wilmington City Council approved an agreement to contract with Flock Safety in March of this year.

The Flock ALPR system works by identifying license plates and vehicle characteristics like make, car type, color, and defining features, and decoding this with machine learning. This high-tech system helps local law enforcement in 1,200+ cities around the country investigate crime by providing objective evidence.

Flock cameras do not capture people and do not employ facial recognition. They have been shown to reduce crime by up to 70%.

To proactively prevent crime from occurring in Wilmington, the cameras will send a real-time alert to law enforcement when a stolen car or wanted felony suspect vehicle from a state or national crime database enters the jurisdiction. They can also send real-time alerts if a vehicle associated with a missing person in an AMBER or Silver Alert is detected.

“These advanced video cameras not only will result in increased arrests and prosecutions, but they send a clear message to criminals that Will County takes crime seriously,” Glasgow said following a check presentation to the city on Oct. 14. “It is a credit to Chief Arnold that he readily joined with me in initiating this partnership for safety with the business community, and to D’Orazio Ford for participating in this important venture.”

The State’s Attorney’s contribution was funded entirely with money forfeited by criminals, without the use of any taxpayer dollars.

Glasgow and D’Orazio Ford Managing Partner Ali D’Orazio presented checks to Chief Phil Arnold in a ceremony attended by Mayor Ben Dietz, members of the Wilmington Police Department, and representatives of D’Orazio Ford.

“This is a great example of how a public-private partnership can benefit the entire community,” Arnold said. “The Wilmington Police Department is continually looking for innovative ways to protect our residents, and these cameras will be game changing in our efforts to track down criminals. Through this interconnected system, the Wilmington Police Department can share and receive information with other connected agencies from nearly 700 Flock Safety cameras throughout the region.”

The power of Flock's technology lies in the network of cameras, enabling police departments and communities to work together to reduce crime. The Wilmington Police Department can share and receive information with other connected agencies from nearly 700 Flock Safety cameras throughout the region.