Basalt considers license plate readers, drones for public safety

Basalt Police Department presented to Basalt Town Council Tuesday on future investments in license plate readers and drones to assist with public safety incidents. 

Currently, these are preliminary propositions with no concrete planning undertaken. Tuesday’s conversation follows council’s decision in March to move forward with DACRA Tech speed cameras in four locations. 

According to Aaron Munch, the chief of Basalt Police, the department is looking into these technologies with the aim of providing information to police about an incident before officers can arrive and to help provide data that can lead to solving crimes. 

Munch noted the license plate readers would be different from the proposed speed cameras. The readers would be used to help solve crimes and help with situational awareness of an incident by collecting license plate data and providing the camera’s surroundings remotely, which Munch noted could help first responders get information on a scene before they arrive.

“I would hope that we could get that technology in place just to assist in solving the many crimes that we deal with throughout our valley,” Munch said.

Munch added that the company they are considering for the license plate readers, Axon, would allow Basalt Police to enter contracts that do not share data with any outside organizations. According to him, the company has internal safeguards that protect collected data from leaving Basalt’s system. 

Basalt Police also already use Axon products for tasers and body cams. 

“The future of LPR systems and data sharing has definitely changed, so I’m not worried about [data sharing] at all, especially with the policies you can put in place, and again, those different ways to reduce data sharing with certain agencies,” Munch said.

Munch noted that Axon cameras cost about $3,000 per camera, although there may also be a monthly subscription cost depending on how Basalt Police Department decides to finance their cameras. According to Munch, because of the fast rate of LPR technology development, short-term payments are likely more reasonable.

“It seems like maybe a lease option is better, just because technology is changing so quickly and advancing so quickly,” Munch said. “If you purchased cameras, in two to five years, they could be obsolete.”

Munch intends to return to the city council in the near future to propose the technology, and to ensure the city council feels comfortable with the security of the data collected.

“It’s an unfortunate series of events that have happened with the data sharing with federal agencies, and it’s unfortunate because of the great amount of information you can gather from these cameras to solve crimes and help the community,” Munch said.

He also proposed to Basalt City Council the implementation of drones to act as first responders. While Basalt Police hasn’t decided on a company to invest in yet, they would like to build drone stations at “strategic” locations around the valley that would house larger-sized technology. 

These drones and stations could cost around $50,000, according to Munch. These drones could be operated remotely, out of line of sight, to get eyes on an incident before officers could respond. 

“[Drones would] be able to get eyes on any type of scene or crash, or what have you, much quicker than I could drive from my office down to a location, such as if traffic was backed up, like our typical afternoon traffic,” Munch said. “[We would] be able to have just faster responses and faster eyes on scenes.”

While these drones do require licensed operators, Basalt Police Department already has three. Larger drones like the one Munch proposed are also already being used by Mountain Rescue Aspen, and enhancing the valley’s fleet could create more interagency assistance, according to Munch.

“Basalt sits in the valley floor in the mid-valley, so we’re always working with Roaring Fork Fire,  and every once in a while mountain rescue might have to be pulling somebody off a trail around here,” Munch said. “If we can assist by putting a drone in the air and getting to a trail and eyes on someone that is calling for help quicker, then we’re more than willing to do that task and help out.”