The Wright City Board of Aldermen voted 3-1 last week to approve the idea of installing two roadside smart cameras that can automatically identify and log license plates and descriptions of passing vehicles.

Aldermen took a vote on a proposal to begin using the cameras during their April 14 public meeting. Alderman Karey Owens was the sole dissenting vote.

The city will now proceed to finalizing and approving a contract with Flock Safety, the security tech company that would provide and maintain the cameras, as well as the internet-based database that collects and stores information for up to 30 days.

The cost of the cameras has been identified as $2,500 per year for each camera ($5,000 total), plus a one-time installation fee of $350 per camera.

The cameras are motion-activated, taking still-image photos whenever something passes by. When that “something” is the rear of a vehicle, the online computer system records information about that vehicle’s license number, type, color, and other unique features. That information is then checked against a list of vehicles that have been reported to be stolen or involved in serious crimes, setting off an automated alert to police whenever one is spotted.

Police officers can also use the camera database as a tool for investigating crimes such as theft and burglaries, said Wright City Police Chief Tom Canavan.

Aldermen had previously identified several potential concerns with the camera system, which can be roughly summarized into these points:

• How can the city prevent and monitor potential misuse of the system?
• Could the system be used for ‘over-policing,’ such as scanning for expired license plates?
• How secure would the data in the system be?
• Would the system intrude on the privacy of law-abiding citizens?

During the April 14 debate, Chief Canavan said Flock Safety had informed him that the system could include a publicly accessible website where anyone could get detailed information about how the system is being used, down to what database searches are being done by specific officers. Flock has also said that the cameras are only recording data from the rear of vehicles, all data and images are deleted after 30 days, and nothing is provided to anyone outside their system.

Canavan believes the smart cameras will be an important tool for addressing crime by helping to look for suspect vehicles.

“(Citizens) want to know why we can’t solve some crime. Well, we have no leads,” Canavan said. “My only intention with these is to better serve the community.”

Alderman Ramiz Hakim said his concerns over the system would mostly be addressed by the transparency of the public being able to monitor the usage of the system, along with Flock’s other answers to the concerns. He also said city leaders wouldn’t allow the cameras to be used to scan for minor offenses like expired license plates.

“I think all those concerns have been addressed,” Hakim commented. He said he believes the cameras would help police combat a rising trend in criminals who are traveling along Interstate 70 to target communities that are seen as being more vulnerable to theft and property crime.

Alderman Owens, however, indicated that she hadn’t been dissuaded from her concerns ahead of her ‘No’ vote. She asked if the city or its police department would have an objective set of measurements for whether the benefit of the cameras is outweighing those concerns and financial costs.

“It’s important to me ... to make sure we have metrics that say ‘This is what success is going to look like for us,’ and if we’re not meeting it, we have a deadline that says ... in nine months we have to see this much progress to say this is a path worth continuing,” Owens said. “Without having some of those clear goals ... I don’t think I can get behind it.”

Despite their disagreement over whether to proceed, aldermen did agree on three necessities to prevent the camera system from being misused: 1) The transparency website needs to be provided by Flock Safety so that citizens can monitor the system. 2) A citizen oversight committee should be established to proactively review how the system is being used. 3) Results of how the system has benefited investigations should be reviewed after nine months in order to determine whether they’re worth the expense.

A final contract with Flock Safety will still need to be reviewed and approved at a future board of aldermen meeting.