We have one job….keep our citizens safe – Mayor Bill Danielson
The Town of Irmo is planning an expansion to add 22 more license plate reading cameras to the existing
11 already in service.
At a Town Council Workshop on Tuesday, July 7, council was presented with a demonstration by Jaylon
Johnson of Flock Safety, the manufacturers and distributers of Flock camera systems. Johnson assured the
council that privacy laws and Fourth Amendment rights are always in consideration. “These cameras
cannot do facial recognitions,” said Johnson. “The sole purpose of the cameras is to take a snapshot of the
license from the rear of the vehicle.”
The cameras would give a boost to law enforcement and first responders.
“By adding the additional cameras we can monitor every entrance into the town and identify the make and
model of vehicles throughout Irmo,” said Irmo Police Chief Bobby Dale. “If a vehicle is in the database
for being stolen or commissioned in a crime the officers will receive an alert and we can be there in
moments.”
Dale said that the images are deleted after 30 days and are snapshots and not videos.
“We, as council, have one job and focus in the Town of Irmo and that is to keep our citizens safe,” said
Mayor Bill Danielson. He cited examples of all the crimes prevented or taken to conclusion by the
cameras that were installed back in 2022. “We have had stolen vehicles, business break-ins, domestic
abuse, armed robbery, shoplifting and even a peeping tom and list goes on,” Danielson said.
The discussion of adding more cameras and the possibility of a first responder drone is not new to
council. After a similar presentations made in 2025 council applied to the State House for a grant to pay
for the first responder drone.
The grant was $375,000 for the town and is in the State budget for the coming year but those funds will be
unavailable unless the state house agrees on their budget.. The license plate reader cameras can be
purchased through the accommodations tax.
A drone would heighten response times ten fold by traveling at speeds of 60mph and it’s ability to be able
to communicate will all responders while being utilized. “It can show in real time what first responders
are rolling up on,” said Johnson. “It’s not just law enforcement responding to a crime, it can be an
accident, a fire or any number of incidents that require a fast knowledgable response to help first
responders do their job.”
He assured that when the drone is not for surveillance purposes and that it’s cameras are pointing at the
horizon and not the surface. Once on site it zooms in on the scene of the 911 call.
Council agreed that if they did not receive the grant that moving forward with the 22 additional cameras
was still a possibility. A public hearing would have to be held for a budget amendment.
