LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — City council members invited the Lexington Police Department to discuss a topic that's been on people's minds; the use of technology by the department.
As the program continues to grow with more cameras and better technology, the idea behind Tuesday's session was to educate the public on the need, and purpose of some technology the department uses.
The public forum was held so that council members could gather some more information about the city's usage of Flock Safety License Plate Readers, traffic cameras, and Fusus.
Commander Matt Greathouse with the Lexington Police Department cleared up some of the misunderstandings surrounding technology during a public forum. At one point, he discussed traffic cameras which are operated by the city's traffic engineering department.
"Simply put, you are not being watched 24/7. It's not how these cameras work," said Commander Greathouse. "They are recording at all times, but only viewed by the police once there is an incident and a camera might be of some use. And in order to access that video an officer would need to fill out a form and go through the division's intelligence unit for approval. Speeding and seat belt violations are not lawfully allowed to be tracked on these cameras either."
Commander Greathouse said Cobb County, Georgia solved 100% of its homicides thanks, in part, to their Real-Time Intelligence Center which uses similar technology to what's being used in Lexington.
The police department currently has 100 Flock devices placed around the City of Lexington. They are not traffic cameras and cannot be used for speed or red light enforcement.
Chief Lawrence Weathers noted that placing them in strategic locations is the whole point, and not an indictment of a neighborhood or its residents.
"Those might be areas where people are over victimized too, so we have to look at that," said Chief Weathers. "If we're going to police fairly and just I think we need to take into account what the victims want as well and I think that's what we did with that whole program."
Last month, Mayor Linda Gorton unveiled her budget and it included $150,000 towards the Flock License Plate Reader program so it can move to its next phase.
Chief Weathers said cameras also allow police to not only solve more crimes but to do so more quickly.
The department also uses a platform called Fusus. It serves as a real-time intelligence system for officers. But businesses and individuals can also get involved. There is an option for them to register their cameras to let the police know that they are there, free of charge. Businesses also have the option of purchasing a Fusus device that shares the feed to LPD.
