The River Forest Police Department is getting a new crime-fighting tool: a mobile surveillance and Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) camera trailer.
At its Nov. 18 meeting, the Village Board authorized the purchase of the new mobile camera trailer from Minuteman Security and Life Safety of Tinley Park for $36,070.17, in addition to a $2,000.00 camera configuration fee from Griffon Systems of Elmhurst, for a total of $38,070.17. Both firms are currently providing similar services to the police department. Delivery of the new equipment is expected in late January.
The purchase, which will be funded through a $45,000 Illinois Attorney General Organized Retail Theft grant for fiscal year 2024/25, was approved without discussion as part of the unanimous approval of the consent agenda. Police Chief Jim O’Shea said the remaining $5,000 will pay for extra duty detail patrols. The trailer and overtime will be used and focused on retail business areas to combat retail theft crime, which is on the rise.
Between Jan. 1, 2023, and Nov. 27, 2023, there were 222 retail thefts reported. For the same period this year there have been 322 reported retail thefts, an increase of 45 percent.
“This increase may be influenced by several factors, including retail establishments calling police more to reduce theft and shrinkage financial losses; the increased use of product alarms and tracking devices by stores; the increased use of security cameras; establishments bringing in loss prevention or security agents to manage theft and security; and the negative consequences of no bail requirements contained within the SAFE-T Act,” O’Shea said.
River Forest also received a $113,000 Attorney General Organized Retail Theft grant in FY2023/24. That grant funded ALPR systems, a Real Time Crime Center solution and extra duty detail patrols. Because the Crime Center purchase was much less expensive than originally expected, the village returned $54,143.02.
In a memo to Matt Walsh, village administrator, O’Shea said the mobile camera trailer will supplement the surveillance camera and ALPR system throughout the village operated by the police.
“To augment and improve this system, staff seeks to deploy a solar-powered mobile camera trailer that is equipped with both surveillance and automated license plate reader cameras,” he said. “The cameras will integrate into existing systems allowing the police department to deploy the trailer to tactically advantageous locations that are primarily focused on curtailing organized retail theft crimes, but also to other locations as needed for emergencies, natural disasters and special events.”
Delivery is expected in late January 2025 and the trailer will be deployed after internal training has been completed.
O’Shea said his department is “always” looking for grant opportunities for public safety initiatives.
“We are constantly monitoring grant opportunities from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Bureau of Justice Administration and the Illinois Department of Transportation,” he said. “We will continue to apply for the Attorney General grant in future budget years.”
Use of camera trailers have become commonplace for public and private organizations, including Elmwood Park, according to O’Shea.
Minuteman, the existing village ALPR vendor, will build the video surveillance trailer that will include a 20-foot hand crank telescoping tower that rotates 355 degrees and a 730-to-750-watt solar array. Griffon, the existing village Avigilon surveillance camera vendor and camera system manager, will configure and integrate the trailer cameras into the existing Avigilon ACC software.
Quotes were received from other vendors, including Mobile Pro Systems ($37,983.00), and Griffon Systems ($39,430.00).
According to the Illinois attorney general’s website, the Organized Retail Crime Task Force is the first statewide, public-private collaboration of its kind in Illinois and is designed to foster cooperation among retailers, online marketplaces, law enforcement agencies and state’s attorneys dedicated to targeting organized retail crime enterprises.
The task force allows the office to use data and tips provided by retailers and to partner across jurisdictions with law enforcement agencies to investigate organized retail crimes and trace thefts to their source. Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s goal in establishing the task force is to improve communication among public and private entities and use a multifaceted approach to combatting organized retail theft and related criminal activity.
In addition to establishing the task force, Raoul initiated legislation to create and specifically define organized retail crime in state law. Signed in 2022, the law put in place stronger oversight of online marketplaces to curb actors who exploit legitimate platforms to illegally sell stolen goods. It also creates a statewide intelligence platform to help retailers and law enforcement agencies better coordinate their enforcement efforts.
Additionally, the law requires online marketplaces to verify the identity of high-volume sellers, which will help police outlets used to monetize stolen merchandise. The law also reduces a criminal’s ability to avoid prosecution by allowing any state’s attorney where any element of organized retail crime takes place to prosecute the whole crime. The law also gives the Attorney General’s office authority to utilize the statewide grand jury to prosecute organized retail crime.
Also under the law, the General Assembly appropriated funding to the Attorney General’s office to award grants to state’s attorneys’ offices and law enforcement agencies that investigate and prosecute organized retail crime. The Organized Retail Crime Grant Program was awarded $5 million in Fiscal Year 2023 and Fiscal Year 2024. The Attorney General’s office continues to support the Organized Retail Crime Program and has awarded $5 million to 107 law enforcement agencies for Fiscal Year 2025.
