Criminals may think twice before flocking to Featherstone
Members of the Featherstone community showing off new signage that will be installed to bring awareness of the new Flock Safety system. Pictured are Hollie Thomas, Amy Hebert, Howard Brister and Lisa Little. The Vindicator | Russell Payne
LIBERTY – One area neighborhood has taken watching for criminal activity to a new level, hoping to ward off thieves, vandals and other bad actors.
Featherstone is a small subdivision off Highway 146 on the city’s northside, and community residents prefer to keep things quiet, which undoubtedly includes keeping crime to a minimum.
Several years ago, after a few incidents, residents got together at a neighborhood gathering and decided to do something about it.
Howard and Dani Brister have helped spearhead the project, along with the help of former Liberty County District Attorney Mike Little, who also resides in the neighborhood.
Dani Brister believed that Little’s guidance was pivotal as a career prosecutor in understanding the importance of deterring crime, hoping a system called Flock Safety would do just the trick.
“ I just think it is a really good crime deterrence tool and it gives law enforcement a big leg up,” said Little.
“ Flock Safety is a public safety operating system that helps cities, businesses, schools, and law enforcement in thousands of communities work together to stop crime, protect privacy, and mitigate bias,” according to the company’s website.
The system is designed to detect and log objective evidence to reduce crime, utilizing equipment the company says is 30 percent more effective than standard security systems.
One of the critical elements is a technology that captures and records license plate numbers that law enforcement can access through the company if a crime has been committed.
According to Flock, 70 percent of crime is committed with a vehicle, making the system highly effective in identifying criminals and allowing them to alert law enforcement immediately.
The company boasts relationships with over 2,000 law enforcement agencies and over 2,500 communities that utilize the technology.
“At Flock Safety, we believe it is imperative that we work together with our communities, openly and transparently, with the best people, technological products, and thoughtful policies.” - Garrett Langley, Flock Safety CEO.
For the residents of Featherstone, it has been a simple process for the community, and it requires nothing on their part aside from installation and subscription costs. The entire process is handled by Flock and local law enforcement in the event of an incident.
The system can even flag any vehicles associated with outstanding crimes or stolen plates and sends that information to the Liberty Police Department in hopes of a quicker response time.
A majority of the residents in the neighborhood funded the system on their own, independent of a homeowners association.
“ They just all realized we wanted to be proactive before anything happens,” said Dani Brister.
Little echoed that sentiment, “Hopefully, nothing ever happens, but if it does, we can go back to look at the vehicles.”
For more information on the different products offered visit flocksafety. com.