Adrian city commissioners voted Monday night to withdraw from the city’s contract with Flock, ending three years of use of the license plate reading cameras. The vote followed a recommendation from Police Chief Vince Enrick, who told commissioners the cameras had not delivered the results his department expected.
The decision came during a city commissioners meeting. Enrick had brought the proposal forward at the previous meeting on Sept. 8.
Adrian has had 10 Flock cameras in use for three years. Enrick said his department gets about 15,000 calls each year, but after reviewing data, officers only used Flock cameras in 79 cases last year.
“Of those, not every one is successful,” Enrick said.
Enrick also pointed to a shrinking network of participating agencies.
“There’s been about 500 fewer agencies over the last eight months. So people are withdrawing pretty quickly, and that’s fewer cameras out there,” Enrick said.
“I’ve had a number of conversations with the sheriff, and between the two of our agencies, we’re not seeing the return that we thought we would,” Enrick said at the Sept. 8 meeting.
The cameras cost $32,500 a year for the city. Enrick said he feels that money could be used for a raised crosswalk project downtown, a proposal that will be voted on separately.
“I think that would go a long way in terms of slowing the traffic, reducing the noise complaints, and the issues that we’re having there,” Enrick said.
Two Adrian residents said they are neutral on Flock but agreed the cameras are not the right fit for the community.
“I feel like Flock cameras would be beneficial to the Adrian area if it was a large crime rate,” said Markqone Russell, an Adrian resident.
Vincent Inclan, owner of Vinny’s Barbershop & Salon, said he would rather see the money used differently.
“There’s a lot of things it could go to, as far as parks and recreation, as far as the kids. We have a beautiful Raisin River that could be cleaned up and used for some kayaking. There’s so many things that can go on here in Adrian, and the budget has to be spent wisely,” Inclan said.
