Troy extends license plate reader contract

By Max Bryan, Medianews Group

Troy – Troy could have readers on the streets for a minimum of 5 years due to a call by town council final week.

The Troy metropolis council unanimously voted to approve the 5 -year contract of $ 347,500 of town with herds cameras. The settlement acts as an extension of town’s contract with the digital camera firm, which has operated license plate readers within the metropolis since July 2023.

The cameras report photos from the surface of the automobiles and their license numbers, stated Troy Police Chief Josh Jones. There are 27 such cameras within the metropolis, that are accessible to different legislation enforcement businesses in all the state that use the know-how, together with the State Police of Michigan.

Jones stated that the success he and his officers have had with the cameras is as a result of many suspects use automobiles to go to and from their crimes.

On the finish of August, Jones advised the Council that the cameras have been utilized in 60 visitors stops and have helped his officers to restore 29 stolen automobiles and to carry out 31 arrests. Such an arrest was from Robert Paljusevic, who’s accused of shooting a man In Corewell Well being Beaumont Troy Hospital in March.

“It enabled our researchers to comply with the place our shooter’s automobile left the hospital and the place they began to go afterwards,” stated Jones.

Jones additionally stated that researchers for Lululemon, the clothes firm, despatched him a letter stating that the cameras helped them to interrupt an “superior theft community” of 16 folks that resulted in $ 250,000 in losses with three retailers.

“It is phenomenal and it is easy to help this,” stated Mayor Ethan Baker.

A rising variety of police businesses in Metro Detroit now use license plate readers, together with Detroit, Warren, Southfield and Sterling Heights. The units take pictures of the again plates of automobiles earlier than they ship the plate numbers, GPS coordinates, date and time and journey route to a web based cloud.

Bumper stickers and different visible components may also be recorded.

Whereas Michigan’s legislation prevents the police from utilizing the cameras for visitors enforcement, Metro Detroiters have up to now pronounced concern About what occurs to their automobile data as quickly because it has been despatched to a centralized database to share.

However Jones stated he didn’t hear these worries in Troy.

“I’m actually conscious of (these worries),” Jones stated. “I feel that was an element that we checked out as a division earlier than we introduced it to the council.”

Troy’s contract with Flock is a substitute for a state provide for the corporate. Metropolis officers estimate that the state contract would price the Troy $ 145,000 extra through the 5 years.

Initially printed: September 5, 2025 at 8:43 am Edt