According to the FBI, a staggering 1.2 million violent crimes happen annually, with nearly half of those incidents remaining unsolved — largely due to insufficient evidence. Property crimes also pose a significant threat, with seven million instances happening each year and less than 20% solved due to a lack of evidence. These alarming statistics illustrate the necessity of advanced technology, such as automated license plate recognition (LPR), which gives law enforcement the actionable evidence needed to solve crimes and bring justice to victims.
The primary obstacle preventing crime from being solved quickly or at all is a lack of readily available evidence. Eyewitness accounts are unreliable and doorbell and security camera footage is often incomplete and unclear.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police reports that over 70% of all crime involves a vehicle. This means that license plates and vehicle data are among the most valuable investigative leads law enforcement can obtain when investigating a case.
Automated license plate recognition (ALPR) camera systems capture clear, accurate license plate information and vehicle details, transforming hours of footage into investigative leads. In contrast to traditional video surveillance cameras, an ALPR system allows for license plate evidence to be readily accessible and easily searchable. With this capability, law enforcement can quickly narrow down a pool of hundreds of potential vehicles to a few, or even a single, suspect vehicle.
Previously, when detectives were tasked with solving a crime, they had to spend long hours or even days examining archived documents in search of clues. However, time is a crucial factor in solving violent crimes and the more time that passes, the more unlikely clearing the case becomes.
With ALPR camera systems, hours of footage can be automatically condensed into relevant, easily-searchable frames. As a result, law enforcement officials can swiftly examine footage and identify potential suspects without the need to manually sift through long hours of video. This is a major time-saver for police departments, allowing them to prioritize their resources towards solving and preventing crimes, rather than being consumed by reviewing footage.
Individuals planning to commit a crime often are aware that license plates are identifiable data points, so what happens if they steal a car or a license plate tag? If a crime occurs, even without a full plate number, an advanced ALPR system allows law enforcement officers to narrow down footage based on the timeframe, vehicle color, vehicle type, make or other descriptors, such as alterations and damage. By doing so, investigators can save an enormous amount of time and ultimately improve their chances of clearing cases quickly.
Some ALPR technologies have advanced search capabilities that assist in identifying vehicles involved in multiple crimes or identify accomplice vehicles used in serial or organized crimes. This investigative evidence can expedite case clearance and prevent repeat offenses like organized retail theft (ORC), which is an increasing problem for retailers around the country.
For example, last year, police in Greenwood, Indiana received an ALPR camera alert that a wanted vehicle associated with an ORC ring targeting high-end stores was traveling in a shopping district. After the vehicle passed one of their ALPR cameras installed around the mall perimeter, officers responded immediately, arresting the suspect and recovering stolen items. This arrest likely not only solved a single crime, but prevented future crimes, as the suspect had been committing the same type of burglaries across the area.
Another important benefit of an ALPR system is the ability to proactively alert law enforcement and prevent crimes before they occur. For example, certain alerts can notify law enforcement when a stolen vehicle or known wanted suspect’s vehicle is in the area.
These real-time notifications work by the integration of data from the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and local law enforcement agencies. When a vehicle with a warrant or a stolen vehicle passes a camera, officers receive a notification enabling them to respond accordingly and prevent the suspect from committing any further crimes.
These alerts can also be used to identify and locate vehicles associated with specific crimes. For example, if a vehicle is involved in a hit-and-run accident, a custom list can be used to track down the vehicle and identify the driver. This can be a critical piece of evidence in investigations, leading to more successful outcomes and ultimately helping to keep our roads and communities safer.
In today’s world, where criminal activity can easily cross jurisdictional lines, it is increasingly important for law enforcement agencies to collaborate and share information. The top ALPR vendors offer the ability to create shared alerts with neighboring jurisdictions, allowing law enforcement agencies to gather more investigative leads and catch suspects who may be moving between jurisdictions.
A prescient example occurred in Atlanta, Georgia recently, when local law enforcement leveraged ALPR technology to apprehend a suspect accused of shooting inside a medical office, killing one woman and injuring four others. The police combined security cameras with Flock Safety’s ALPR camera network to track the suspect’s whereabouts after he fled the city in a stolen pickup truck. Investigators acknowledged that the ALPR cameras were instrumental in tracking the stolen vehicle, allowing law enforcement to follow its movements and locate the suspect at a parking garage in a neighboring county.
Moreover, by leveraging local law enforcement agencies’ camera networks, agencies can cast a wider net and increase their chances of getting hits for wanted vehicles. Working together in this way is a powerful example of how technology can be used to promote collaboration and information-sharing among law enforcement agencies, ultimately leading to safer communities.
Another advantage of ALPR and other vehicle data technologies is that they can provide objective evidence that can be used to support criminal investigations. For example, it can be used to establish the location of a vehicle at the time of a crime or to show that a suspect’s vehicle was in the area at the time of the crime.
This can be particularly helpful in investigations of hit-and-run accidents, robberies and other crimes where the location and movement of a vehicle are important factors. Having such objective evidence at hand can be highly beneficial in the courtroom, as it can aid in ensuring that criminals are held accountable for their actions.
As law enforcement agencies face increasingly complex challenges, the integration of vehicle data and license plate recognition technology has become a critical tool in the fight against crime.
The transformative impact of this technology has enabled law enforcement officials to gather actionable evidence, bolstering investigations and bringing perpetrators to justice. By leveraging the power of LPR technology, law enforcement agencies are able to achieve safer communities and an improved quality of life for all.
The integration of this technology not only enhances crime-solving practices, but also demonstrates the potential for innovative solutions to support law enforcement agencies in their mission to protect and serve.
Flock Safety is an all-in-one technology solution to eliminate crime and keep communities safe. The company’s intelligent platform combines the power of communities at scale – including cities, businesses, schools and law enforcement agencies – to shape a safer future together. Its full-service, maintenance-free technology solution is trusted by more than 3,700 communities across the country to help solve and deter crime in the pursuit of safer communities for everyone. Visit www.flocksafety.com for more info.
This article was originally published in the June edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.