Hammond City Council approves 13 more 'blue net' cameras, funded with casino money

“The whole license plate reader program has proven to be very effective for the Hammond Police Department,” Council President Janet Venecz said. “This will further enable them to protect our city.”

The expected cost of the project is $494,000.

Monday’s resolution appropriates money from Hammond’s gaming fund budget, which is divided among the districts. Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. will contribute $148,200 from the city's portion, and each council person will add $49,400 with an equal amount from a shared portion of the gaming fund.

The cameras can be mounted on cars or on poles. They scan for license plates that could be linked to a possible driving violation, wanted individual, stolen car, Amber alert or other crime.

The system is linked to state and national databases. The license plate reader lets police know if it detects a flagged plate in real time. A log is made of every car that crosses the field of view.

Hammond paid $500,000 for Vigilant to install the initial readers at strategic locations.

“My goal is to make sure that Hammond police officers have all the tools they need to help them accomplish this goal. I believe our embrace of technology, in setting up Hammond’s ‘blue net’ will keep Hammond on the cutting edge of law enforcement,” McDermott said in release in September.

“Basically, we want the criminals to know this system is in place, and this technology will aid us in their capture.”

Venecz said the addition of the new cameras means every entrance into the city will be monitored. The aim is to catch criminals coming into Hammond from other areas.

She wasn’t sure when installation would begin.

“I think it’s a great crime-fighting tool for our Hammond police department. It further makes our city safer.”