Written by Mac Cox // Photo by Macy Cox
In a recent meeting, the Searcy City Council reached an agreement with Flock Safety to collaborate with the Searcy Police Department. Flock Safety is a public safety system that works with law enforcement in communities to help eliminate crime.
Kristen Macleod, external affairs representative for Flock Safety, addressed the council members during the Oct. 5 meeting. She emphasized that approximately 70 percent of crimes in Searcy are related to vehicles. Flock Safety aims to combat this issue by utilizing a network of cameras to capture essential details such as license plate numbers, make, model, window tinting, roof racks, stickers and other identifiable features.
“The footage collected will be the property of the city and its police department, ensuring it is not sold or shared,” Macleod said. “This objective data will eliminate bias in crime- solving and detection.”
Under the proposed system, if a vehicle is tagged by a neighborhood police station, the department will have the option to access shared security footage. When a vehicle passes through an area equipped with Flock cameras, notifications will be sent to both the originating agency and surrounding agencies, establishing a collaborative network to gather information and reduce crime rates.
Macleod presented a list of police departments that have already successfully implemented Flock Security. The police departments in Ward and Beebe, neighboring towns to Searcy, initiated phase one of camera placement in the last few months. Flock Safety believes that Searcy’s local agencies could greatly benefit from this system.
“The Searcy [Police Department] has already consulted with a mapping expert to strategically position cameras for capturing vehicles entering and exiting the town,” Searcy Mayor Mat Faulkner said.
Macleod also shared several cases in which the Flock system played a crucial role in solving crimes, including reuniting a mother with her child within five hours after the child was lost. Searcy officers have already experienced the benefits of Flock security through information sharing with other agencies, leading to successful outcomes.
“During our visit to Jonesboro, the video footage resolution was incredibly impressive, allowing us to zoom in with remarkable clarity, even from a significant distance,” Faulkner said.
Brittany Hall, Flock Safety sales manager for Arkansas, said the Flock system will allow officers to immediately see where a suspect of a crime is heading.
“It’s a really great tool because when a kit goes off on one of our license plate reader cameras, immediately within a pole patrol car, the officer can log in to the map and will be able to see that car and the location and show where the suspect is heading,” Hall said.
Pending council approval, Flock Safety will begin the process of budget confirmation and phase one installation, with cameras expected to be operational before the year’s end.
