Anna Police Department officers recently apprehended a suspect accused of participating in a series of vehicle break-ins. Police made the arrest using their Flock Safety License Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras to both identify and pinpoint the location of the suspect's vehicle.
On Sept. 12, 2023, Anna police officers responded to numerous reports of vehicle break-ins in multiple neighborhoods. An investigation led to the acquisition of the license plate number associated with the vehicle used by the suspects during the alleged break-ins. Flock Safety told Local Profile that Anna police identified and apprehended one of the suspects, recovering stolen property in the process.
The officers inputted the vehicle's details into their Flock Safety LPR system, which alerted them to its presence nearby. They successfully located the vehicle, initiated a traffic stop and took into custody the suspect facing multiple charges, including burglary and possession of a stolen firearm. The suspect was apprehended on unrelated charges stemming from an outstanding warrant for aggravated robbery.
“Please remember to remove valuables and lock your car,” Anna police wrote on Facebook. “Take, Lock, Hide.”
Local Profile previously reported that several North Texas cities recently made plans to install LPR cameras. To bolster security and streamline law enforcement endeavors, Prosper Police announced plans to install forty-eight Flock cameras throughout the town.
On May 22, 2023, the Plano City Council approved the purchase of 40 L5Q and 10 L6Q Motorola deployable LPR cameras. The new systems will be installed on poles located alongside roadways and parking lots identified as hot spots for criminal activities.
Plano police have been using LPR mobile systems mounted on police vehicles successfully since 2009. However, Plano police found that these mobile systems have limitations: data captures are limited to those places where large first responder vehicles are driven and if the identified vehicles move in a different direction, apprehension becomes difficult. The pole-mounted systems help fix these issues.
