The license plates of vehicles passing through Apache Junction would be read with a new public safety camera program to be discussed by the City Council May 2 and voted on May 3.

The council meets at 7 p.m. Monday for a work session and at 7 p.m. Tuesday for a meeting at the City Council Chambers, 300 E. Superstition Blvd.

Fifteen cameras would be strategically placed around ingress and egress points of the city as well as higher-crime areas, AJPD Police Chief Michael Pooley and Cmdr. Joseph Penze said in a memo to the council.

“The camera's core function is to capture license plate numbers and other vehicle features by taking photos of the rear of a vehicle only. The cameras do not capture photos of people or faces within the vehicle,” it states. “The footage collected allows officers with a documented reason or case number to search for a vehicle by type, make, model, license plate number, missing and covered license plates and other unique features such as bumper stickers, dents or roof racks. Each search executed creates a permanent audit trail.”

Public safety agencies can share camera data to assist with real time alerts for stolen vehicles to dispatch, patrol and detectives. Real time alerts are sent to officers and dispatch via computer or phone, according to the memo.

The council is to consider a $80,350 two-year agreement with Flock LLC for the implementation of the camera program, with year one funded by an Arizona State Vehicle Theft Task Force grant in the amount of $15,000 and $27,800 out of the city’s General Fund.

“Flock offers a software and hardware solution for automatic license plate detection through Flock’s technology platform and upon detection the Flock Services are capable of capturing audio, image and recordings data of suspected vehicles and can provide notifications to agency upon the instructions of non-agency end user,” according to a Flock Group Inc. services agreement.