Lexington mayor touts ‘valuable’ license plate cams, wants to address more safety concerns

While touting the effectiveness of new license plate-reading cameras that have been installed in Lexington and used to assist police investigations, Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton and Police Chief Lawrence Weathers say they’re aiming to take more steps to handle local public safety concerns.

One step the city took this year was the implementation of 25 Flock Safety cameras in March, which have helped them to recover over $1.1 million in stolen vehicles, and charged 116 people with crimes, the city said in a news release Wednesday. The city said the license plate readers have also led to the recovery of 11 missing persons, and the seizure of 28 guns.

The city partnered with Flock Safety and the National Police Foundation for a one-year pilot study using 25 fixed cameras that automatically read license plates in areas experiencing high crime. The cameras cost roughly $70,000 each year.

“Our Flock year-long pilot project is barely six months old, and it’s already clear that the license plate readers are a strong asset … a valuable tool in our toolbox to fight crime,” Gorton said. “If the year-long pilot project is successful, ultimately the city will have 100 cameras.”

Some groups had concerns over the Flock camera systems before they were installed, and where they would be placed in the city and how long the data would be stored.

Samuel Crankshaw, a spokesperson for the ACLU of Kentucky, said they had concerns the cameras will be placed based on crime data, resulting in too many cameras in predominately minority neighborhoods.

“This creates a false impression that people in communities of color participate in more illegal activity than others,” Crankshaw said.

Gorton, working with Police Chief Lawrence Weathers, said they’ve taken several steps to address a variety of issues and concerns related to public safety and Lexington police.

“Public safety is my top priority,” Gorton said. “I want to be sure we are doing all we can to improve safety.”

Extra officers assigned to Tandy Park

Also mentioned in the city’s public safety update were efforts to improve safety downtown, specifically in the Tandy Park area.

According to Chief of Police Lawrence Weathers, the Flock Safety cameras have helped in areas such as Tandy Park.

“We are encouraged that there have been several arrests after recent incidents downtown,” Weathers said in the news release. “Many of the arrests were aided by Flock license plate readers and local business security footage.”

According to the release, extra officers and sheriff’s deputies have been assigned downtown and their stations are being reconfigured. Gorton said there has not been a shortage of officers downtown.

The city said additional lights will be added in the park, and some businesses may change their hours. The city is also considering changing the park’s hours.

The city said the local Downtown Safety Work Group, which was formed and started meeting last year, is continuing to address concerns in bars and restaurants, property security measures and ABC training. Bar owners have been especially helpful in working through problems, responding to concerns, and shortening their hours, the city said.

Homicides have increased, but youth gun violence down

Lexington has reported 29 homicides in 2022, more than the city had at this time in 2021, which is the worst year on record for homicides.

Eleven of the deadly incidents took place in May, marking it as the deadliest month in Lexington since at least 2007, according to Lexington police data.

While homicides have increased, Gorton noted in a news release that gun-related deaths among people aged 13 to 29 have reduced. Gorton attributed this to

2021 also saw an increase in homicides from the year before, when the city reported 34 homicides. Despite this, the city has seen a decrease in gun-related deaths in people ages 13 to 29. Gorton said this is impart due to ONE Lexington’s work. ONE Lexington is a city program aimed at combating youth violence.

Gun-related homicides have decreased 55% involving people in that age range, and shootings involving people in that age range have decreased 12%, the city said.

That’s progress being made by One Lexington violence prevention program and its community partners,” Gorton said.

The numbers also reveal an increase in homicides that are domestic violence-related.

“We have been talking to partners in domestic violence prevention about ways to address this,” Gorton said.