GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Kent County Sheriff's Office has 25 cameras that scan license plates across the county.
Undersheriff Chuck DeWitt called the cameras "force multipliers," meaning they are able to check license plates for flagged numbers faster than deputies.
They are not identifying where the 25 cameras are located, only that they are in heavily trafficked areas. 13 ON YOUR SIDE found one near Tanger Outlets in Byron Center.
"When trying to investigate crimes, develop patterns, identify where stolen vehicles may be, there's two ways to go about doing that," said DeWitt. "It's either the human element where we devote staff, which is quite costly to patrolling in the area, sitting at intersections trying to watch for those vehicles that may be driving by, or you're able to use technology such as license plate readers to do that work for us, develop those leads, which then just make that case be able to come to fruition that much quicker and easier."
DeWitt said the cameras do not positively identify the driver of any vehicle, and will not be recording or monitoring the day-to-day activities of drivers in the county. It is used for criminal investigations.
"This data is no different than any other data that we collect," said DeWitt, "We have a retention schedule, and based on the retention schedule, that data will be purged. Unless, of course, it is used within an investigation, that it truly is evidence, and then it would fall within the retention schedule for that particular crime, whether it's a misdemeanor or felony."
The cameras will be able to notice flagged plates, like in the situation of a missing vehicle, missing persons, or more.
Sheriff's office staff had been doing training, now they are in the implementation stage.
The cameras were made possible through a partnership with tech company Flock Safety and the Major County Sheriff's Association and made free through a grant to Kent County.
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