LOCUST GROVE, Okla. — Several neighborhoods in Tulsa and now the Locust Grove Police department are using a new camera system that helps track potential criminals.
Locust Grove was the first town in Oklahoma to install the Flock Safety camera system.
“They’re what we call license plate readers," says Locust Grove Police Chief Cullen Bean. "Our cameras are stationary and as a car comes by, they read the plate. That’s all they do."
If a plate that’s been flagged by any law enforcement agency is recorded passing a Flock camera, an alert is sent to local law enforcement.
“We’ve had 10 stolen cars come through that we’ve been able to apprehend and that was because, like I said, cars come through, it clicks the plate, and it sends us a message and then we go to the area located.”
Bean says they brought in the flock cameras to help reduce crime. One week ago, two people were arrested after locust grove officers were able to track down a stolen vehicle through the flock system.
Officers also found narcotics and drug paraphernalia in the vehicle. Bean also says they installed the cameras because of how close they are to a major highway. He says the Flock cameras have even helped track down wanted suspects from other states.
“We had a car come through, the plate got clicked and the plate was registered to a felon out of Ohio, that Ohio was looking for,” Bean says.
The cameras have been in Locust Grove for about two months, and Bean says they’ve already gotten more than a dozen hits on license plates.\
There has been some pushback against the Flock Safety camera system. The American Civil Liberties Union released a report in March about its concerns with the system.
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