New Technology Installed to Assist Public Safety with Crime Detection

New Technology Installed to Assist Public Safety with Crime Detection 

As crime rises on the North Shore, specifically motor vehicle theft and burglary, Glencoe is joining forces with many other North Shore communities to incorporate Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) camera technology to aid in detection. ALPR technology is a passive system that captures license plate numbers of vehicles travelling through Glencoe and compares the data to “hot files” that identify stolen vehicles and vehicles tied to criminal activity. If the vehicle is tied to a “hot file,” the ALPR system makes real-time notifications to Glencoe dispatchers and on-duty Public Safety officers resulting in increased public safety, officer safety, criminal apprehension, and crime prevention.

As a passive system, ALPR camera technology does not obtain and store vehicle owner information for vehicles not immediately tied to criminal activity. While a photo of the vehicle and license plate is captured, the data will only be reviewed by Public Safety officers if the vehicle is subsequently tied to documented criminal activity.

ALPR technology also assists the Public Safety Department with community caretaking issues by locating vehicles tied to AMBER Alerts, Silver Alerts, and other missing/endangered people.

Integrating best-practices into the management of ALPR technology is a top priority for the Village and the Public Safety Department. Staff is creating policy and implementation plans to facilitate consistent and lawful application of ALPR technology to protect individual privacy rights.

Please note:

• Any collected data is owned by the Village; the data will not be sold or shared.
• Data is stored for 30 days, then automatically deleted.
• Legitimate law enforcement justification is required to access data and an audit trail is kept identifying officers who utilize ALPR data.
• Data will not be used for traffic enforcement activities.
• ALPR technology does not include facial recognition capabilities and does not capture personally identifiable information (PII) of drivers or vehicle owners.
• ALPR cameras capture wholly objective data and images of vehicles and license plates, eliminating any bias while providing clear and actionable investigative leads.

The Village of Glencoe is working to install this technology this week and plans to begin utilizing ALPR technology this fall. For questions, contact the Public Safety Department at (847) 835-4112.