Streator to buy 8 license plate reader cameras in response to shooting

The Streator Police Department will purchase eight automated license plate reader cameras for entry points at the north, east and west of town, including at a central location.

The $59,450 purchase was approved unanimously at a special Streator City Council meeting Tuesday set in response to a shooting June 11 near the intersection of West Hickory and North Bloomington streets. The shooting was the fourth resulting in injuries since April in Streator – with two of them leading to deaths.

The license plate reader cameras through Flock Safety will alert the police department of wanted vehicles, stolen vehicles, vehicles connected to Amber Alerts, or any other vehicles entered into the Illinois State Police database. The cameras can register license plate numbers, the color, the make and the model of vehicles. The readers are designed to only flag license plates connected to an ongoing crime, a missing person or someone facing criminal charges.

Reading Township (Livingston County) has license plate reader cameras at the city’s south entry points, according to Deputy Chief Robert Wood.

Mayor Tara Bedei said license plate readers were instrumental in helping the city track two suspects arrested in Memphis, Tennessee, following a fatal shooting May 6. Neighboring communities, such as Ottawa, have them in place.

Wood said the city will pay for the cameras from its drug enforcement fund. The city will have to pay a yearly rate of $24,000 – $3,000 per camera.

Implementation time will vary, depending on approval from the Illinois Department of Transportation at installation points involving routes 23 and 18.

The license plate cameras are one of several actions Bedei put into place following the June 11 shooting. The La Salle County Sheriff’s Office and Illinois State Police are assisting Streator police in patrols on Fridays and Saturdays, the city is moving forward with a nuisance abatement complaint at a rental property at 121 W. Hickory St. near the shooting site, moving forward with maintenance of 16 existing surveillance cameras and continuing tavern checks.