Channahon receives $5,000 for Flock Safety cameras to prevent, deter crime

A $5,000 donation was made to Channahon to pay for two more Flock Safety cameras in the village to help catch and prosecute criminals.

On Monday, Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow presented the $5,000 check from his office to Channahon Police Chief Shane Casey and Channahon Village President Missey Schumacher at their board meeting to pay for the two Flock Safety cameras.

Channahon already has seven Flock Safety cameras in use.

Flock Safety cameras help prevent crime by sending real-time alerts to law enforcement when a stolen vehicle or known wanted suspect from a national crime database enters a jurisdiction, according to a news release from Glasgow’s office.

A private citizen who wishes to remain anonymous matched Glasgow’s donation with a personal donation of $5,000.

“Contributions by Glasgow to this countywide public-private partnership initiative to encourage communities throughout Will County to deploy these special video cameras currently stand at $47,500, with combined contributions between Glasgow and community partners currently totaling $90,000,” Glasgow’s news release stated.

In a statement, Glasgow said with the “dangerous influx of criminals from Cook County and Chicago, we must do everything we can to protect the public.”

“Not only are these video cameras a proven way to catch criminals but they play an important role in deterring crime by demonstrating that in Will County we take catching and prosecuting dangerous criminals seriously,” Glasgow said.

The cameras are created by a company called Flock Safety, which was founded in 2017 by Garrett Langley, a technology entrepreneur. The company’s website said Langley experienced property crime in his Atlanta, Georgia neighborhood and worked with local police to understand how citizens can help prevent and solve crime.

The American Civil Liberties Union published a March 3 paper that analyzed Flock Safety’s business model and legal issues. The paper contended Flock Safety is “building a form of mass surveillance unlike any seen before in American life.”

Casey said in a statement that the cameras have been used to recover stolen vehicles, identify vehicles used in the commission of the crimes and locate people who suffer from dementia.

“We are extremely grateful to State’s Attorney Glasgow as well as to our private donor, who wanted to contribute to this program because of the partnership with the State’s Attorney’s Office which doubles individual contributions,” Casey said.

Glasgow provides the contributions for the Flock Safety cameras entirely with money forfeited from criminals, without any taxpayer dollars, according to the news release.

Glasgow has donated the costs of Flock Safety cameras for Shorewood, Lewis University in Romeoville, Beecher, Elwood, Homer Glen, Manhattan, Mokena, and Wilmington.