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Kingsburg swears in three officers and begins trial of Flock Safety license-plate readers
Summary
The council ceremonially swore in three new officers — Gary (Beere/Bier), Ronaldo Meza and Stephanie Chavez — and the police department described a pilot of 10 Flock Safety license-plate readers positioned at city entry and exit points that have aided an investigation and arrests.
Kingsburg welcomed three newly sworn officers during the council meeting and heard from the police chief about a trial deployment of Flock Safety license-plate reader (LPR) cameras.
Police Chief Dainen introduced the officers and their family members. The three officers pinned and took their oaths in a ceremonial presentation; the city and chief thanked them for returning to service and for joining the department.
Lieutenant Salinas briefed the council on an initial deployment of 10 Flock Safety cameras placed on the city's entry and exit corridors. "These cameras will capture vehicle license plates, vehicle descriptions, vehicle make models, and they're stored on their servers," Salinas said, explaining the cameras are positioned off-road to capture vehicles entering and leaving the city rather than surveilling residents' yards.
Salinas described how the system assisted in a recent investigation: officers used the system to geofence a plate and were notified when the vehicle returned to town, enabling an arrest. "Just 2 weeks ago, we had a grand theft of about $3,500 worth of car parts ... the officer quickly jumped on Flock and saw the vehicle at Sierra And Simpson, grabbed the license plate ... we ended up getting 2 arrests out of it," Salinas said.
Council members asked about integration with Amber Alerts and in-car plate readers; Salinas said Flock integrates with other LPR sources and can flag wanted vehicles, but officers still must follow up to confirm details. The department said data sharing follows state law and that agencies decide with whom they will share LPR data.
The presentation also included routine quarterly statistics: patrol calls for service, arrests and recent pedestrian-vehicle collisions; the chief said staff were reviewing trends with the traffic-safety committee. The LPR pilot will continue while the department evaluates coverage and effectiveness.
