The Aurora City Council has approved using federal funds 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 council approved the use of the funds Tuesday night.
The items will be funded by a $2.28 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services office Technology and Equipment Program. The City Council had voted previously to accept the grant.
The grant will pay for 90 closed-circuit cameras at the Aurora Police Department’s East Indian Trail headquarters. They would be located mostly in the booking and jail area.
There also will be 18 new traffic cameras set up at intersections throughout the city. They will replace older ones that are out of date and not always useful due to the quality of their video, officials have said.
The new cameras will have live feeds and record 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.
The grant also will allow the city to purchase license plate readers to be set up around Fox Valley Mall.
The 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.
The grant also will go toward a number of hardware and software upgrades for the Aurora Police Department’s digital forensics lab.
Even with the approval on Tuesday, there will be about $1 million remaining in grant money. Officials have said the police department still is working on how to spend those funds.
slord@tribpub.com