License Plate Readers a major tool in fighting crime
By Gilbert Hoffman Star-Courier
HIGHLANDS-The Chamber of Commerce held their monthly luncheon last Thursday, with a large crowd of members and guests. The program was about License Plate Readers in the Highlands area, as provided by a company known as Flock Safety.
Speakers on the subject were introduced by Pct. 2 Liaison Gretchen Knowles. They were Bruce High, IT Director for Pct. 3; Dale Anzalone, representative for Flock Safety company; and Seargent Amanda Watson, a deputy with Pct. 3 Constable’s office.
Flock cameras are becoming ubiquitous in Harris County, with the City of Houston many jurisdictions in the county implementing their use to visually monitor vehicles on the road. According to Flock, the cameras can read license plate numbers, or identify characteristics of vehicles, and alert officers of the location of someone they are looking for, or someone with outstanding warrants. They can access a nationwide database in real time, to identify an observed vehicle and report it. Anzalone said that the cameras can be accessed by any law enforcement agency to help in their searches. The units are solar powered, and connected wirelessly to the internet.
Bruce High said that Commissioner Tom Ramsey was committed to using the Flock system in Pct. 3, and already has several hundred installed. His plan is to put two of the cameras in Highlands, to monitor traffic on Main Street (Crosby-Lynchburg Road). There may be more added at a later date. High said that there are currently cameras in use in Huffman, and in the greater Houston area there are at least 3000 Flock cameras in use in Harris County, and 8000 installed in the region. He said that the yearly cost for each camera is about $3000.
Sgt. Watson said that Deputies in her department use the data from the cameras every day, with great success. Typical uses for the cameras would be to search for vehicles known to be involved in a crime, or stolen vehicles, or a car with a missing child or adult. Sgt. Watson has been awarded Officer of the Year by her department recently. She works as a K-9 deputy, making drug arrests.
The audience showed a great deal of interest in the camera system, and indicated support. After the presentation, Gretchen Knowles introduced four Students of the Month f rom Highlands schools: Wendy Leija, GCM; Peyton Pierre, HJS; Larenzo Ponce, HES; and Sahily Argueta, BPHopper.
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