Oswego set to join Kendall County-wide police Automatic License Plate Reader system

The Oswego Village Board is set to vote on two resolutions Tuesday, April 19 that will position the village to become part of a developing Kendall County-wide Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) system under the direction of KenCom, the county’s emergency 911 dispatching agency.

Village staff is recommending the board pass a resolution authorizing Police Chief Jeff Burgner to sign a memorandum of understanding on behalf of the village with Flock Safety, KenCom’s ALPR vendor, and another resolution calling for Burgner to sign an intergovernmental agreement with the KenCom Executive Board/Kendall County Emergency Phone Service and Communications Board governing the ALPR program.

Through a system of cameras positioned throughout the county, the ALPRs will scan and capture images of vehicle license plates and permit local law enforcement to identify and track vehicles through a cloud-based computer network operated by Flock Safety.

For instance, if a vehicle marked by police during an investigation passes below one of the plate readers, the system will automatically notify the authorities and potentially patrol deputies of the vehicle’s exact location.

The cameras will be installed by the public safety company as part of the contract, which guarantees a one-time replacement in the event of damage. Use of the ALPRs on state and county highways will require approval by the Illinois Department of Transportation or county officials.

In a memo to the board, Joe Renzetti, the village’s director of technology, noted that village police first presented the board with information on how an ALPR system could potentially be used by police to assist in crime prevention, investigation and parking enforcement during two separate meetings in 2020.

KenCom subsequently contracted with Flock Safety to install ALPR cameras at locations throughout the county, including the village.

Renzetti continued in his memo: “The way in which the Flock Safety portal works is that each agency needs their own personalized dashboard and within this dashboard can request camera access from other agencies like KenCom.

“Kencom is the ‘owner’ of the ALPR cameras in the county and they need to maintain access and credentials to their dashboard. For Oswego to gain access to these cameras a memorandum of understanding needs to be executed so that Oswego can own and maintain a Flock Safety portal tailored to the village.”

Renzetti noted that the village will be allowed to lease additional cameras directly from Flock Safety if there is a future need to expand the program within the village.”

Tuesday’s board meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 100 Parkers Mill.