URBANDALE, Iowa — In May of 2022, the Urbandale Police Department installed more than a dozen traffic scanning cameras around the city to improve public safety.
Just over one year later, city officials are now confidently saying that the investment is paying off.
“They've been quite successful, not only in our investigative work, but also in getting warrants off the street, in assisting in finding missing children, as well as assisting in finding people that have warrants out for their arrest,” Community Resource Officer Holly Pickett told Local 5.
When a car is stolen or a suspect is on the loose, Pickett says they rely on license plate information to identify the vehicle as criminals tend to move from city to city.
With this in mind, Urbandale police added 14 traffic scanning devices, called “Flock” cameras, throughout the city at various intersections. Alongside other local agencies who have done the same, all the cameras in the Des Moines metro area can be accessed at any time.
And after 14 months of testing the cameras out, officer believe the success is speaking for itself.
“They have assisted in a total of 59 warrant arrests, a total 14 recovered stolen vehicles, and one missing child that has been recovered, due solely because of that flat camera system," Pickett said.
On July 11, the Urbandale City Council approved a request from law enforcement for six additional cameras, which will cost the city around $250,000.
The devices will now cover nearly every corner of the city, in all directions, at all times.
Officials and officers hope the additions will further enhance a system that is producing results and cracking cases.
“The more intersections that we can cover, the more cameras that we can cover," Pickett said, "Then, obviously, the more places that we are weeding out, that people can travel through while committing crimes in the city."
A full list of Flock camera locations in Urbandale, including those set to be installed, can be found here.