ALPENA — The Alpena County Sheriff’s Office is considering the purchase of Flock System License Plate Reader (LPR) cameras using grant funding for the purpose of criminal investigation.

The full board of commissioners would need to vote to move forward with the plan.

The idea was brought to the Courts and Public Safety Committee meeting this week.

The cameras would not be monitored at all times and would only be used in a criminal investigation, Alpena County Sheriff Erik Smith said. The office plans to purchase 10 cameras to use throughout the county using grant funding. No general fund money would be used on the project.

Smith said the grant funding has already been received by the Sheriff’s Office, but whether the purchase of LPR cameras would be an acceptable use of that funding is still in question.

LPR cameras have helped the Sheriff’s Office solve crimes in the past, including a parental kidnapping and an arson case. Flock system LPR cameras outside of Alpena County, with the assistance of other law enforcement agencies, were able to catch those suspects, Smith said. All of the Flock System LPR cameras across the country are linked, and purchasing some for Alpena County would add to that network.

The cameras, if purchased, would be placed around Alpena County in strategic locations, Smith said.

The cameras could help deputies identify people from other parts of the state that commit a crime and leave.

“We can see their route,” Smith said. “It gives us a way to locate them.”

There are a limited number of deputies on the road, and a tool like this could be very helpful in investigations. If a case is at a dead end, an LPR camera could provide a piece of evidence to get the ball rolling again.

“It takes all the tools that it can to help us,” Smith said.

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com.