License plate readers could be installed by DeKalb police within the month, says police chief

DeKALB – The installation of new license plate reader cameras in the city was delayed by COVID-19-pandemic-related import and export issues, DeKalb police officials said.

DeKalb Police Chief David Byrd previously said police officials hoped to have the dozen readers installed throughout the city by November. However, he said during the city of DeKalb Human Relations Commission meeting Tuesday the department has ordered six cameras so far. He was told the devices are on their way.

“Hopefully, the installation will be probably before the end of the month,” Byrd said.

The City Council on Oct. 11 approved a five-year contract for 12 license plate readers from Canada-based CDS Genetec for $145,865. Since then, city officials said they’ve fielded surveillance-related concerns from the community.

Byrd previously said the cameras, which scan license plates and vet them for information, will better aid criminal investigations for police. He said he spoke to some residents who were worried about random vehicle tracking for suspended or expired license plates. He said the readers would only be used to track vehicles involved in felonies.

Byrd said the cameras are not meant to be used for total community surveillance and aren’t used for facial recognition software or as red-light or speeding cameras.

“I know that’s kind of one of the biggest concerns,” Byrd said Tuesday.

DeKalb Dep. Police Chief Jason Leverton said the cameras work similarly to how smartphone cameras scan QR codes. The cameras scan for vehicle tail-light characteristics to identify make and model, along with license plate numbers. The scans can autofeed into a database that has tagged information associated to ongoing felony investigations. The readers, however, will not continuously record video or still images in the process, he said.

Leverton said some states don’t require vehicles to have front license plates but all states require rear license plates.

“It basically scans vehicles moving away from the camera,” Leverton said.

The cameras are designed to only flag license plates that are connected to an ongoing crime, a missing person or someone facing criminal charges, city staff previously said. That means the software potentially can flag a stolen car, identify a person wanted for a crime or identify a vehicle connected to an Amber or Silver alert, Byrd said.

Byrd said the reader information database feed, which will be considered as sensitive information for ongoing investigations, will run in the background for dispatchers at the police station. If a car associated with a felony is detected by the readers, dispatchers will get a sound notification from the system, he said.

“That’s how they’ll know there’s a felonious vehicle in our town,” Byrd said.

Byrd said police plan to install the cameras in entrance and exit corridors and high traffic roads in the city, along with areas police identify as high crime. He said while the cameras won’t be hidden, he won’t identify where police will place them so people facing potential warrants for arrest don’t avoid the area for fear of detection.

“It totally destroys the purpose,” Byrd said.

Byrd said he thinks the cameras will help police address crime in the city significantly and act as a deterrent to people wanting to cause trouble in DeKalb.

“It gives us eyes where we don’t have eyes,” Byrd said.