Aurora is considering using funds from a previously accepted grant to upgrade cameras in the Aurora Police Department headquarters, replace aging traffic cameras, install new license plate readers and get new equipment for the police digital forensics lab.
The proposal, which would be fully funded through the $2.28 million COPS Technology and Equipment Program grant, was unanimously recommended by the City Council Finance Committee on Thursday. It must now make its way to the full Aurora City Council for final approval.
The Aurora Police Department’s headquarters on East Indian Trail Road needs an upgrade to 90 closed-circuit cameras, according to Aurora Police Lt. Andy Wolcott.
He told Finance Committee members that the cameras would be located primarily within the booking and jail areas of the building. They are necessary to make sure detainees are being taken care of properly and are not harming themselves, officials said.
The police department, in collaboration with the city’s traffic engineers, is also asking for 18 new traffic cameras to be set up at intersections throughout the city. Wolcott said these will replace older traffic cameras, some upwards of 15 years old, that are out of date and not always useful for solving crimes due to the quality of their video.
“If its a black car, you can see a black blur going across the screen. Well, that doesn’t do anybody any good,” he said.
The new cameras would have live feeds and recordings of all parts of an intersection at once, as well as allow officers or city traffic engineers to zoom in or look in a particular direction of interest, according to Wolcott.
He said the upgrades would help police better solve car accidents and identify suspects’ vehicles while also helping traffic engineers monitor streetlights and backups at the monitored intersections.
The proposal also includes the purchase of license plate readers, which Wolcott said are set to go around Fox Valley Mall.
The Aurora Police Department already has license plate readers along entrances to the city, along Route 59 and in key areas like downtown and the Chicago Premium Outlets mall, he said.
These readers have already been useful in solving crimes, according to Wolcott.
He said a car was stolen along Orchard Road late Tuesday night, and those inside were later seen flashing guns at passersby. That car was tracked using existing plate readers, which led to the arrest of five suspects, he said.
The Aurora Police Department also requested a number of hardware and software upgrades for its digital forensics lab.
According to Digital Forensics Investigator Jacob LaShure, digital exploitation of children has “skyrocketed” since the COVID-19 pandemic, as children are online more than ever before.
He said some of the requested equipment, such as a standalone desktop dedicated to such investigations, would help in these investigations.
The department is also requesting a new MacBook Pro, as its current iMac is over 10 years old; lockable evidence cabinets that charge devices or block radio signals; and a TD4 Forensic Duplicator, which helps to acquire data from computers, LaShure said.
On the software side of digital forensics, the lab is requesting software that securely holds and transfers evidence through cloud storage, a smartphone data extraction tool, a “digital forensic triage tool” and Chainalysis Reactor, which helps investigators investigate cryptocurrency-related crimes, according to a presentation on the requests.
LaShure said cryptocurrency-related scams have been on the rise in recent years, particularly targeting the senior community. Some in Aurora have seen their life savings taken through complex online or phone scams involving cryptocurrency, he said.
The grant would still have around $1 million remaining if the proposal is approved by the Aurora City Council, according to Finance Committee Chair Ald. Carl Franco, 5th Ward. Walcott said the police department is still working on the best ways to spend those funds.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
