Brunswick police looking to keep Flock cameras in the city

BRUNSWICK — The Brunswick Division of Police is interested in entering into a service agreement with Flock Safety to keep using 10 of the company's safety cameras after a trial period has shown the cameras are beneficial to the department. The cameras scan license plates, and information on certain vehicles is sent to the dispatch center and officers who are logged onto the system, Lt. Robert Safran said. Cameras were installed in parts of the city over a year ago, and there have been many success stories so far, Safran said. "The best way to describe it is as a force multiplier," he said. "This thing is an extra set of eyes or 10 sets of eyes out there in the field for us." For instance, a hit confirmation on a flock camera notified police of a vehicle that was entered as stolen by the Cleveland Police Department on March 7, 2022. Safran said officers located the vehicle in the Home Depot parking lot, and the suspect had about $1,300 of stolen merchandise, narcotics and a felony warrant out of Cuyahoga County for robbery with a firearm. "That's just one example of how they're used in a sort of preemptive mode where the cameras picked up on something, and we're going to find this bad guy," Safran said. The flock cameras were also more recently used in a rape case of a juvenile, he said. Detectives ran the suspect vehicle through the system. "The results of that report put the suspect exactly in the area where the rape occurred," he said. "Date and time and everything matched what the suspect's whereabouts were with what the victim reported to us." The resolution to enter into an agreement with Flock Safety in an amount not to exceed $25,000 moved to a second reading during Monday's City Council meeting. The agreement goes through the end of the year. City Manager Carl DeForest said it would have to be renewed annually if the city wants to continue to use the flock cameras. "We share it currently with about 200 other agencies, so we just think it's a great tool for law enforcement," Safran said. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.