Lewiston to get county license plate readers
Lewiston will receive at least eight license plate readers to install around town, something Police Chief Frank Previte said would be used to help solve crimes.
'It gives us the ability to put in a license plate to see if it hits on a certain location,' Previte said, adding it would help in cases involving missing persons and determining if a vehicle was stolen or has suspended registration. He assured the town board they would not be used for the likes of speeding tickets.
The board unanimously approved a resolution Monday allowing the technology to be installed in its boundaries, one of nine Niagara County municipalities to do so.
These readers are funded by a New York State Law Enforcement Tech Grant program the Niagara County Sheriff's Office received, which the governor's office announced $127 million worth of funding last May. The sheriff's office received $950,000 with the Lewiston Police Department getting $495,000.
In 2023, the sheriff's office entered into a five-year contract with Flock Safety, a manufacturer of license plate readers and other security technology, to install 67 pole-mounted readers throughout the county. It will be worth $172,000 per year when all of those cameras are operational.
As such, the county sheriff will have the responsibility for maintaining the equipment.
'Every police department in the county will have access to the data,' Sheriff Michael Filicetti said, noting it would give the department instant alerts if a car related to any investigations passes by a camera.
He also said the cameras only scan a portion of a vehicle and its license plate. They do not use facial recognition or trace the movements of anyone.
The department said then that the data the system collects is 'deleted every 30 days on a rolling basis and not sold or shared with third parties.'
The only such reader in Lewiston already is on North 2nd Street, with the Lewiston Police Department having the technology in their patrol cars already.
Previte said they would be installed along the state routes going through the town like Routes 18, 31 and 104. The sheriff is still working on determining the exact locations with the state Department of Transportation and when they will be installed.
This past February, the Niagara Falls City Council agreed to spend $300,100 for 24 Flock Safety solar-powered plate readers for installation, along with its software, storage, and support. Also funded by a New York State Law Enforcement Tech Grant, the city police department received $1.085 million. Their locations are based on crime reporting data.
This technology has been criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union, having called it 'dangerously powerful and unregulated.'
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