Privately-funded automated cameras that can read vehicle license plates are going up in a Milwaukee business district, in an attempt to help reduce violent and property crime.
The Havenwoods Business Improvement Districtstretches from Sherman Blvd. to 76th St., and Silver Spring Dr. to Good Hope Rd. It has announced it will lease 14 cameras from the Flock Safety company, which has clients in other communities including Grafton.
Havenwoods BID board chairperson Steve Hentzen said the cameras will be placed in what he calls equitable locations in the district.
"The data from these cameras will be 100% owned by Havenwoods BID, and will only be used for solving crimes. They're not used, and not intended to be used, to capture speed or to be used for traffic enforcement," Hentzen told a news conference held at his company on Mill Road.
Hentzen said data from the cameras, which are infrared meaning they'll work at night and on very cloudy days, will be shared with the Milwaukee Police Department.
The cameras will be placed on stop lights, separate poles and business signs, depending on traffic volume and availability of electricity or solar panels to power the cameras. Flock Safety's Josh Thomas said the cameras will photograph the entire back of a vehicle and be able to determine the color and make, as well as a rear license plate.
"And then it matches those cars against the FBI's NCIC database. So, if it's a wanted or stolen car, it's already in the database. In real time, a patrol officer who's nearby will get that alert in the laptop of their car. They'll note that's a stolen car that just went by. Similarly, if there's an incident that occurs in the area, and an eyewitness were to see something, they could tell an investigator, and that detective can go out into our system and literally search for that specific car during that time frame, find the license plate and continue their investigation," Thomas explained.
Thomas said the data from the camera will be stored in the internet cloud for 30 days, then deleted.
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm said they welcome the cameras, which add to other cameras and electronic surveillance in the area. Chisholm argued citizen privacy will not be harmed.
"Our goal is never to turn this into a total surveillance state. It's to use limited information to help us solve crimes," he said.
The Havenwoods BID said a neighborhood in Atlanta saw crime drop 35% after the cameras were put in.
Law enforcement experts say many factors can affect crime rates, and some citizens have commented on social media that some cars are illegally on the streets without rear license plates.
But the nearly 300 businesses in the Havenwoods BID are giving more cameras a try.
