May 5, 2023 JOLIET—Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow presented a $5,500 contribution to the Village of Steger for the purchase of two Flock Safety cameras at the May 1 Village Board Meeting. Village President Kenneth Peterson, Jr., accepted the check on the Village’s behalf along with Police Chief Gregory Smith. This donation brings to $58,000 the total contributions Glasgow has made to the countywide safety initiative. Along with contributions from private partners, $105,500 has been contributed to communities throughout Will County to deploy these special video cameras which help prevent crime and catch criminals.

Flock cameras assist law enforcement in proactively preventing crime by sending real-time alerts to law enforcement when a stolen car or known wanted suspect from a national crime database enters the jurisdiction. When any type of disturbance or crime is reported, a review of the camera data can yield the license plate or plates–not people or faces–of those responsible.

“I established this safety initiative to counter the devastating rise in vehicle hijackings from dangerous individuals coming from Chicago and Cook County and to protect the residents of Will County. These cameras are extraordinarily valuable in keeping our communities safe. Not only do they allow us to catch these violent offenders in the act of carjacking, but they work as an amazing deterrent. When the offenders know we have this incredible line of defense and a no tolerance policy, they will take the path of least resistance to the north and not venture into Will County. Here, violent offenders know they ‘Will’ go to jail. Just this week, a flock camera identified a vehicle in Crete that had been carjacked in Chicago. Although the three suspects fled on foot after trying to back their vehicle into the police car, through a cooperative effort between the Crete, Steger, and Sauk Village police, the three individuals were apprehended and two illegal guns were seized,” Glasgow said.

“Stories like this highlight the importance of flock cameras. Statistics show that vehicle hijacking exponentially increased in Chicago, from 486 in 2012 to 1601 in 2022. As we continue to experience carjackings and other criminal activities, we must use every tool available to not only to catch these dangerous criminals, but deter them by demonstrating that we take criminal activity seriously in Will County.”

With Flock cameras, police can search by vehicle make, color, type, and license plate; identify the state of the license plate; and capture temporary plates. Flock cameras also capture vehicles with a missing, covered or paper plate, unique vehicle details like roof racks and bumper stickers, and even vehicles without plates.

“This technology will help level the playing field to combat the rise in motor vehicle thefts as well as carjackings,” Smith said. “We are very grateful for State’s Attorney Glasgow’s initiative and together we will make the community safer.”

Glasgow provides the contributions for the Flock cameras entirely with money forfeited from criminals, without any taxpayer dollars used. In addition to the Steger cameras, Glasgow has donated the costs of Flock cameras for Braidwood, Channahon, Shorewood, Lewis University, Beecher, Elwood, Homer Glen, Manhattan, Mokena, and Wilmington.