Chief reports expansion of plate readers, ShotSpotter tie-in and smoke-shop enforcement; commissioners pressed on raises
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Summary
A chief-level update described approval of 50 additional license-plate-reader units (mix of Flock and Plate Ranger), a free square mile of ShotSpotter provided by a vendor, ongoing smoke-shop prosecutions and proposed ordinances; commissioners expressed concern deputies have received no recent raises and cited retention problems.
A chief-level speaker told the Lancaster Criminal Justice Commission the city has approved 50 additional automatic license-plate reader units and will deploy a mix of Flock and Plate Ranger systems. The speaker said the Plate Ranger vendor (SoundThinking) offered a complimentary square mile of ShotSpotter (acoustic gunshot-detection) tied to the procurement.
The chief said the department is coordinating with the sheriff's office to place units to address coverage gaps. He described ongoing operations targeting retail theft and said multi-agency enforcement has included up to 40 officers from several agencies in recent operations.
On smoke shops, the chief said about 76 shops exist in the city; coordinated enforcement with state tax and health departments found unstamped and untaxed cigarettes at many locations and those shops were cited and prosecuted. The chief said the council had placed a moratorium on new smoke shops while the city develops additional regulations, including possible limits on nitrous oxide and some marijuana-related products sold at these outlets.
Commissioners used the update to raise compensation concerns. A commissioner said deputies appear to be receiving no pay increases (described in the meeting as '0%'), and speakers said deputies are leaving for better-paying agencies; the chief agreed retention and pay are issues and urged support. Commissioners asked staff to pursue ways to advocate for pay adjustments to reduce turnover and mandatory overtime.
The commission offered thanks to enforcement personnel for recent operations and asked that staff continue coordinating multi-agency efforts and provide further detail about deployment plans for the new plate-reader and ShotSpotter coverage.