TULSA, Okla. — Video cameras are intended to increase surveillance where they are placed, but recently, their advanced technology is proving helpful in helping law enforcement when solving crimes.
Frank Rhoades says every day about 3,200 cars drive through Forrest Hills neighborhood. He knows becuase he lives there and the 13 flock cameras they installed around his community two years ago are helping him keep track.
“It catches them coming in," he said.
Rhoades said the cameras capture the car model and tag number of every car that enters the neighborhood.
“It’s no different than driving through a Pike Pass," Rhoades said.
Rhoades said the only difference is that the driver is often unaware their tag number is recorded. He said int he two years they've had them, the cameras have captured thieves and drivers involved in hit and run cases.
Rhoades said a TPD officer volunteered to run the tags on any car that appears suspicious in his community.
“We get a screenshot of the car and the tag number, then he will just get on his computer and see if it’s a wanted car," Rhoades said.
The cameras are not only keeping watch on Rhoades' neighborhood. Earlier this year, Chief Franklin also highlighted how much the recorded images helped police with different investigations.
“These images have been used on a variety of cases from homicide to robbery to petty larceny," Chief Wendell Franklin with Tulsa Police Department said.
In fact, just this week that's how police were able to arrest the person of interest in Okmulgee's quadruple homicide.
According to the arrest report from Daytona Beach Shores Public Safety, a similar license plate reader system alerted police that a passing Toyota Tundra pickup truck had been reported stolen out of Oklahoma.
Rhoades said his neighborhood was the first in Tulsa to install these cameras. Since then, surrounding neighborhoods have also added similar security systems to their community.
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