Willow Springs has joined the growing number of communities that will have cameras on key roads leading in and out of town.
The cameras take photos of license plates of vehicles as they leave and enter a community, adding a layer of policing.
At its Sept. 12 meeting, the board unanimously approved an agreement with Flock Safety Group, Inc.
The camera hardware and software will cost the village $21,900 at the start. The village will then pay an annual fee of $18,000, Village Administrator Ryan Grace told the board.
It’s money well spent, Police Chief Garry McCarthy said.
Six cameras are planned to be placed strategically on roads leading in and out of Willow Springs.
“Every access point to the village is covered,” McCarthy said. “It’s good for a number of reasons.”
McCarthy noted that a photo taken in Willow Springs could help solve a crime in another town, and vice versa as the camera system links to those used in other communities.
For example, if a vehicle is reported stolen in Northbrook and comes to Willow Springs, the camera can “pick up on them very quickly.”
And if a car is stolen in Willow Springs, a camera system in another town may pick up the plate, he said.
“Burr Ridge has this,” McCarthy said of a neighboring town.
“Flock is a good company. Been around a while. I think it’s well-worth the investment. Other places much larger than us are cutting back on technology,” he said.
Chicago, for example, is talking about scrapping its ShotSpotter system.
McCarthy, who formerly was police superintendent in Chicago, can’t understand why any town would not use available technology to fight crime.
When Trustee Ernie Moon asked where cameras would be located, McCarthy smiled and indicated he’d rather not reveal precise locations.
After the meeting, Trustee Michael C. Kennedy, Jr., called the Flock cameras “a good tool.”