LEXINGTON, Ky. — Lexington’s Flock cameras are showing positive results after police recovered nearly $1.3 million worth of stolen cars.
This week, Lexington’s police department and city council updated the community on some ways these cameras function and their success. Flock cameras are used to help police reduce and prevent crime, as well as locate missing and endangered people.
“We put enough funding in this year‘s budget to purchase 75 more cameras so we would have a total of 100 cameras throughout the city,” said Whitney Baxter, a member of city council representing the 9th district.
The city’s urban county government is currently in a one-year agreement with Flock Safety that prevents the disclosure of the current 25 test cam’s placement. A new contract would allow the public to view the camera’s locations on the police department’s transparency page.
The city reports that within the first few months of the camera’s trial, some were vandalized and or stolen. Baxter, who helped jump-start the trial run of the cameras, says the best way to prevent harm is to add more as needed.
“In yesterday’s presentation, we heard that criminals are aware of where the cameras are currently and they are changing their patterns, their traffic patterns to avoid these cameras. If we had more in the community, they wouldn’t have anywhere to go.”
Leaders want the public to know that the cameras are not for surveillance but to help prevent ongoing crime and violence. While the cameras are implemented on behalf of the city, Baxter says that interested neighborhoods can invest as well.
“It’s not inexpensive and neighborhood associations who collect hoa dues are interested in purchasing them for their own neighborhoods. The interesting thing is they can share the data with our police department if something was to happen in their neighborhoods.”
Thus far, police report they were able to locate 11 missing people, 30 firearms and developed 38 investigations. They also say they have furthered seven of the 38 homicides in 2022 alone.