New contract extension for flock cameras

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) – It appears flock license plate cameras will be around Lexington for at least five more years.

Thursday night, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted on the new five year contract for flock license plate cameras in the city of Lexington.

“What it is, is a $1.6 million contract for software and hardware upgrades, maintenance of the system itself,” said Mayor Linda Gorton.

The contract passed with only council member Tayna Fogle voting against the measure.

Flock cameras were first introduced in Lexington back in 2022.

“And we’ve been able to grow that system up to 100 cameras,” said Lexington Police Commander Matthew Greathouse. “We’ve seen great effectiveness through their deployment in helping not only violent crime, but all crimes within our community and help return nearly about $4 million worth of property back to the community.”

And while police don’t link the cameras to the lower rate of crime, they say they do help.

“They’ve found missing persons via the system,” said Mayor Gorton. “They found I think it’s $3.7 million dollars worth of stolen vehicles. They’re a tool to find the perpetrators of crime.”

Commander Greathouse says these cameras help them be more efficient on the job.

“We need to make sure they are efficient in their jobs and efficient at what they do,” said Commander Greathouse. “And once again, that just allows them to be where they need to be at the right time to interdict folks that have committed crimes and victimized folks in our community.

And we may see even more cameras installed in the near future.

Mayor Gorton says she has 25 new cameras in her budget for next year.