Dougherty Co. commissioners hear ‘crime’ cameras proposal

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - The new Flock Safety pole cameras proposed by the Dougherty County Police Department would essentially make it easier for police to solve crimes and analyze potential suspect’s vehicles.

Dougherty County Police Chief Kenneth Johnson proposed the cameras in Monday’s commission meeting.

The cameras would help to assist law enforcement in many different ways. They’re already being used by other Georgia law enforcement agencies.

“The ability for it to help our officers be more specific about where to be and what to look for, I think is a great asset rather than just driving around aimlessly trying to hope they stumble across someone committing a crime. This allows them to find the person that they’re looking for,” Dougherty County Commissioner Russell Gray said.

The cameras are also able to tie into other camera networks so they can be shared with other departments if need be.

The cameras can identify vehicle license plates and other details about vehicles, however, they don’t take pictures of who is inside the vehicles, or how fast they’re driving.

“They cannot issue speed tickets,” Commissioner Gray said. “They do not monitor speed. These are only there to take pictures of the vehicle, read the tag and report the information back to a centralized database.”

The pole cameras are expected to cost $58,500. The financing for this will come out of the special services district fund.

“This technology, we’re going to be able to kind of eradicate some of this crime that’s been going on. Because these poll cameras, the criminals are not going to know where they are,” Dougherty Co. Commissioner Anthony Jones said.

The vote on the camera will happen Monday, March 6th. If passed, 10 pole cameras would be placed randomly throughout the county.

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