Elmhurst adding more cameras to combat crime
Elmhurst is expanding its system of automated license plate readers at the request of its police department.
The ALPR cameras take photos of license plates as cars pass and then upload the pictures to a secure database owned by Vigilant Solutions with the date, time and location.
Alderman Dannee Polomsky, who chairs the city's public affairs and safety committee, said the idea is to create a "perimeter" around Elmhurst that scans plates at major intersections.
As of today, there are five locations with ALPR cameras in Elmhurst. It will expand to 14 locations with a total of 43 cameras.
The systems are mounted on existing city property, such as street lamp poles.
The city council approved the nearly $500,000 purchase at its July 15 meeting.
Deputy Police Chief Michael McLean said the system has been "crucial" in solving several major crimes during its test run, including a 2017 road-rage shooting at York Road and Diversey Avenue in which a man was shot in the face while driving.
"During the initial investigation, the victim obviously was not able to remember the license plate of the person that had shot him," McLean said. "But because we had a license plate reader camera mounted on a traffic signal in the area, we were very quickly able to identify the suspect vehicle and later the suspect."
Police arrested the suspect that night and recovered the handgun they said was used in the shooting; the man ultimately was charged with attempted murder.
The city conducted a 65-day single-camera trial of the program in 2014, followed by expanded tests in 2016 and 2017. Police credit the system with aiding in 26 investigations involving attempted murder, motor vehicle theft, burglary, retail theft and more, including 19 felonies.
McLean said the cameras can serve as a witness to crimes even if no one was there to see it.
"It allows crimes that otherwise would not have gotten solved to now have a significant lead for detectives to follow up on, to ultimately solve it and bring the crimes to justice," he said.
McLean said the system does not keep data on vehicle owners or match license plates to vehicle information. Law enforcement can use the data to investigate crimes, but must run the plate numbers through their LEADS system for more information on the vehicle and owner.
The system is administered within the detective division. Approved detectives can log into the secure database with a password and must enter an Elmhurst police report number before they can access the data.
Those queries (which include the police report number, the investigating detective, the date and the time) are audited on a monthly basis by the detective commander.
Polomsky said the committee talked through concerns the program could be too "Big Brother-like." She stressed the cameras will be used for tracking the suspects of crimes, not tracking drivers or enforcing things like red light violations or speeding.
McLean said the department has opted into data-sharing agreements with a network of other local law enforcement agencies, all approved by the Elmhurst Police Department, which must have originating agency identification numbers issued by the FBI. Outside queries into Elmhurst license plate data are audited by the law enforcement bodies running the searches, rather than Elmhurst.
"The data is not sold or given away to any private entity for viewing," McLean said.
The Illinois ACLU has criticized the system provider, Vigilant Solutions, for sharing data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); police departments can opt into sharing the data with ICE, which is also a customer of Vigilant Solutions. McLean said Elmhurst does not share its data with ICE.
The expanded system will cost $499,929 for the hardware, equipment and installation from Brite Computers. Vigilant Solutions will provide access to its software system as included in its current contract with the city.