The Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office expects a state firearms safety grant to fund flock cameras in the county for two years.
Flock Safety is a company that manufactures cameras used by law enforcement agencies to locate suspects during incidents.
The camera takes still photos of the license plates of passing vehicles. If the plate number belongs to the vehicle the officer is looking for, it will automatically alert the officer.
Sheriff Mark Crider said Flock cameras are already included in the 2025 budget proposal.
Crider told commissioners at the Monday, Oct. 21, meeting that his office will provide funding for license plate readers such as flash cameras, firearm lock boxes and firearms promotion materials. He said he is seeking $80,000 from the state attorney general’s office. Safety.
If he wins the grant, he would remove the item from the department’s 2025 budget.
The proposal says the tool would allow sheriff’s offices to quickly identify and track down suspects who may be involved in gun crimes.
Law enforcement agencies in other areas already use or are in the process of implementing cameras, including College Place, Walla Walla and Pasco.
Crider said acquiring the cameras and putting resources into a tool that has proven valuable to other agencies will make Walla Walla County a better partner to neighboring agencies.
Commissioners unanimously approved the department’s application for a grant for the cameras.
Commissioner Todd Kimball called for checks and balances to prevent lawmakers from using cameras for personal purposes, citing incidents in other communities where officers used cameras to track an ex-spouse’s car. I asked about.
Crider said he’s not sure about the security measures, but requests to track licenses and vehicles are recorded in the system and must be verified.
“If a member of Congress were to abuse this system, he would be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including removal from office,” Crider added.
Kimball also urged the department not to award camera contracts for more than two years, citing budget concerns. He said if the grant expires in 2027, the county will need to reconsider funding for the cameras at that time if it wants to continue the service.
“I would probably rule out anything that increases costs,” Kimball said. “I just am.”
Kreider said the contract is established annually.
