Baraga County Mulls Traffic Monitoring Cameras

Baraga County is considering installing traffic monitoring cameras at key entrances to the county.

At last night’s meeting, Sheriff Joe Brogan told county commissioners that the system would help track vehicles suspected in crimes, leading to faster arrests, and making the department staff more efficient. He cited a couple of recent incidents that would have been resolved much more quickly if such cameras had been in place.

In a video presentation, Trevor Chandler of Flock Safety assured commissioners that this is not Big Brother…

These are not speed cameras, these are not real-life cameras, there’s no facial recognition – not taking pictures of anyone or anything. They’re just for license plates, so you all can identify vehicles that are wanted in connection with some sort of crime that are in your neighborhood.

The initial installation would include seven cameras, monitoring US-41, M-38 and M-28 at the county borders.

Those cameras would join a nationwide network, which already includes 125 agencies in Michigan, and several jurisdictions in the Upper Peninsula. License plates and car descriptions associated with crimes and Amber Alerts in one area are instantly distributed across the network. Nationally, cars flagged by the system help to solve 2,200 crimes per week.

Before the board is asked to make a decision, Brogan and board chair Brad Dakota will talk with other law enforcement entities in the county, to see if they are willing to join the effort, and help cover the costs.

Commissioners also upgraded a position in the Probate Court office from half-time to full-time. The role is essential, but the part-time status has resulted in a lot of employee turnover.