The Warren Police department will soon join other police departments throughout the Valley who use flock cameras to identify suspicious vehicles.

According to Ohio-based U.S. Senator, Sherrod Brown's office, the City of Warren will be receiving $170,000 as part of a series of grants totaling over $2 million awarded to three Ohio cities to develop and acquire effective equipment, technology and communication systems that assist in responding to and preventing crime.

Warren Safety Services Director, Eddie Colbert tells 21 News that part of its share of the money will be used for flock cameras to identify license plates of suspicious vehicles.

Warren Police detective, Mike Altiere tells 21 News the department was looking to get technology like this for the past three to four years, and last year when the nearby City of Niles installed flock cameras, they decided to go with those in order to have the same type of equipment as other areas in Trumbull County.

Since the installation of the flock cameras in Niles in late 2022, police were able to locate several stolen vehicles thanks to technology that allows the cameras to identify the license plates of vehicles reported as stolen or wanted through the national crime computer.

In Mahoning County, Poland Local Schools also plans on using these types of cameras on school grounds to identify vehicles of known offenders who are not permitted on school property.

Detective Altiere says the department has not discussed where the cameras will be put up yet, but will enter these talks once City Council approves the allocation of $50,000 for the cameras. For now, Altiere says high-crime areas will be targeted.

Additionally, Altiere tells us the rest of the $120,000 will be used for cell site survey equipment. Detective Altiere describes this equipment as a way for detectives to get a clearer idea of a suspect's cell phone records at the time of a crime.

After a crime occurs in the city, detectives can visit the scene and survey how the cell towers are during that time and upload that data into their system. From there, when going through a suspect's cell phone records, it would be easier to see whether or not they were at the scene of the crime as it was being committed.