JAMES CITY COUNTY — James City County (JCC) Law Enforcement recently used its Flock Safety License Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras to investigate a road rage shooting that led to an arrest.
On Oct. 5, JCC police officers responded to reports of a shooting. On the scene, they found two victims suffering from gunshot wounds, both of whom were rushed to the hospital. Officers interviewed witnesses who stated that the driver of a red sedan fired multiple shots at the victim’s vehicle following a road rage incident.
Officers reviewed additional footage of the incident and entered the vehicle’s description into their Flock Safety LPRs, quickly noticing that a car matching the description had been detected in the area when the crime occurred.
After entering the vehicle’s license plate into the LPR, police quickly received an alert that the vehicle had been detected near the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry.
After further investigation officers determined that the suspect and his vehicle were aboard the ferry, and notified the Surry County Sheriff’s Office, whose deputies arrested the suspect when the ferry docked.
Flock Safety license plate recognition cameras help law enforcement investigate crime and missing persons reports, according to the company.
Flock Safety spokesperson Holly Beilin said, “These are motion-activated still cameras. They only capture objective evidence. They are complying these details to information from national and state crime databases. Essentially, they are identifying vehicles that are stolen, or known to be associated with wanted offenders or missing persons.”
The technology also provides evidence to law enforcement when they are investigating crimes, it added.
Beilin noted that the Flock Safety cameras provide a service that is cost-effective and realistic in smaller communities with a high return on investment.
JCC has LPR cameras located throughout the county, according to the company. They are solar and battery-powered, and utilize a cellular network instead of WiFi.
“These cameras are only used for public safety. They do not track speed. They are not toll cameras, they are not parking cameras. They are just for your local police department — who owns all the data collected from these devices — to keep the community safe,” Beilin emphasized.
