Full Notification

In line with 21^st Century Policing Recommendations, Morgan Hill Police Department has taken an innovative step to use technology as another tool to help prevent or solve crimes. We have partnered with Flock Safety for a 30 – 60 day pilot program installing 25 fixed automated license plate reading (LPR) cameras in strategic locations around the City to provide the vehicle and license plate evidence needed to help solve crimes. In the past, the Police Department owned and operated three mobile license plate readers that are no longer operational.
 
7 in 10 crimes are committed with a vehicle. Flock Safety is a public operating system that helps over 1200 cities in 40 states reduce crime by up to 70%. Flock Safety cameras capture the make, model, state, color, aesthetics, and license plate (full, partial, or missing) of any car that passes by the cameras. Flock cameras have helped clear thousands of crimes across the country, and Morgan Hill is looking forward to bringing this effective and innovative technology to the community.
 
Pending success, Morgan Hill will then hold town hall meetings to share the information with the community, answer questions and receive community input on policy and privacy concerns.
 
The main goal of the technology is to assist officers in identifying suspects involved in crimes in the community. With limited information provided to officers on scene by witnesses and victims, this tool will be utilized to identify offenders as they approach or leave the scene of the crime. This technology will also alert police officers to vehicles that are reported stolen, are tied to an Amber Alert (missing or kidnapped child), or a wanted person.  
 
Morgan Hill will own all the footage captured by the Flock cameras. Flock Safety does not share or sell the data to third parties. Flock cameras will alert officers in real-time to stolen or wanted vehicles listed on the federal database. Those notifications will then be verified through dispatch before enforcement action is initiated. The system comes with audit capabilities, and officers must have cause and permission to access the information as they did with the prior LPRs.
 
The footage captured will be stored securely and automatically deleted after 30 days. These cameras also do not collect personally identifiable information such as names, phone numbers, and addresses. These cameras will also not be used in conjunction with towing or repossession companies, immigration status, unpaid fines, or traffic enforcement.
 
Morgan Hill is exploring ways to keep the community safer. Flock Safety has proven to be a valuable resource in other Bay Area cities and our Police Department is excited to bring this to our community.

Captain Mario Ramirez
[email protected]