PAINESVILLE, Ohio — A new "Big Brother" will be on the block soon in Lake County.
Seven Flock surveillance cameras will be installed across the county's high-traffic areas.
"It would be great to have police officers all over the county or a jurisdiction and be able to be everywhere to monitor, to know people. We just can't," explains Lake County Sheriff Frank Leonbruno.
Leonbruno says the Flock system will not only give officers an extra set of eyes in monitoring the community by the mile within the jurisdiction. But the cameras will also help to fight crime faster.
"I've never seen a laptop chase somebody down or a desktop computer, arrest somebody for assault. We need officers on the street but we need to give them the tools to properly handle the new type of crime being occurred today," Leonbruno adds.
The cameras instantly read license plates, but aren't used to catch speeders. Instead, they detect stolen vehicles, find missing persons, assist in human trafficking situations, and can help catch a number of other crimes.
"That's great information," says Leonbruno. "We know who it was, when they came through the area and we're farther ahead in the investigation using those."
The Lake County Sheriff's Office averages about five officers per shift. Those deputies cover about 88 square miles across four townships in the county, including Concord, Painesville, and Perry.
Sheriff Leonbruno believes it will pay off for Lake County to stay ahead.
"We need to think anew and act anew. It's the same thing in law enforcement to look at what type of crime there is and how we can better control the type of crime in our community," he says.
In other areas like Mentor, Willoughby, and Maple Heights, the Flock system has already proven to be helpful in making arrests.
All seven cameras will be installed across Lake County within the next 60 days.
Related Stories: