On Monday, the Burr Ridge Board of Trustees approved purchasing new traffic cameras to record license plates and car details in order to track stolen vehicles and other suspicious cars.
Mayor Gary Grasso assured residents the cameras would be at the entrance and exits of the town and would not be speed or ticketing cameras. The cameras are intended to record criminal suspects only.
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The village already has six such cameras and had been receptive for getting more in the next fiscal year starting in a few months, but Police Chief John Madden told village leaders the cameras would be costlier then as the manufacturer was planning to hike annual rates by $1,000 unless they could secure the deal by April.
The board approved 20 Flock Falcon License Plate Recognition Systems at a rate of $2,500 per camera per month ahead of the price increase and this annual rate will be locked in place for 36 months. There is also an additional setup fee of $7,400 fee, though that’s a one-time expense.
“I’m bringing this to you tonight as we were notified of a price increase for $1,000 per camera per year, but if approved tonight we would be grandfathered in,” Madden said.
He added that the first year’s expense — $54,700 — will be paid for by a grant. The next two years will cost the village $50,000.
Trustee Joe Snyder jokingly asked if the chief couldn’t get $60,000, but Madden said the department was lucky enough to get the first year paid off.
“I asked for funding for five years, and we got one year, and we’re very happy to get that,” Chief Madden said.
He added that the few cameras the town does have recently came in handy solving a potentially deadly series of home robberies a week ago.
“A week ago, Monday, at 7 o’clock in the morning, we had two attempted burglaries on the southside of town,” he said.
Madden explained the suspects — from Chicago — had stolen cars and were in the area looking for unlocked cars outside of homes. From there, the suspects tried garage door openers hoping to open garage doors in order to find open home doors. The suspects had already used guns in another village, but in Burr Ridge they were scared off by a dog barking inside the home.
“They were spooked by a dog barking and fled,” Madden said. But though the suspects had targeted several suburban areas, it was Burr Ridge and the camera system that captured the stolen vehicles plates.
“Our detectives were successful in using this technology … to track the vehicle to the south side of Chicago.”
He said it was a team effort between them and the Chicago Police Department.
Trustee Guy Franzese thanked the chief, and Grasso assured residents the cameras wouldn’t target speeders or red light violators or, really, any residents.
“These cameras do not provide us with videos, they provide us with motion captures, and they’re used to track stolen vehicles,” Madden agreed. “What sets these cameras apart is their ability to capture not only license plate data but colors, tags and even roof racks so if you have a vehicle without license plates you can still identify the vehicle.”
“In today’s day, security and safety is primary,” Grasso said.
The motion passed, five to zero, as Trustee Al Paveza was absent Monday. Nobody from the community had any comment.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.