TULSA, Ok — Some city leaders are calling it the biggest advancement in policing in Tulsa in decades.
In a news conference Thursday, Mayor GT Bynum and Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin touted the success of the city's Flock safety cameras.
The cameras are used to capture a license plate number and that information is sent to a Real Time Information Center. If a known, stolen vehicle or a wanted person is in the area, the system will send an alert to the police.
"While all of these cameras are currently not operational, we have seen a dramatic increase in the success of the recovery of vehicles," says Franklin.
Franklin says in the two months since it launched his department is already seeing huge success.
"Thus far, we have recovered 28 stolen vehicles. We have in the course of our work recovered 6 firearms. We have made over 20 arrests, all felony suspects," he said.
Franklin estimates the total value of recovered property is more than $400,000. He says the cameras also aided in other investigations.
"These images have been used on a variety of cases from homicide to robbery to petty larceny," said Franklin.
Earlier this month, detectives used the images obtained by the cameras to track down a homicide suspect's vehicle.
"Last week, robbery detectives were able to use the local surveillance cameras and locations video and flock safety images to quickly identify a vehicle and an accomplice in a carjacking which took place in the city of Tulsa," says Franklin.
With fewer officers right now, Mayor GT Bynum says this technology bridged the gap for the city.
"This is the biggest advancement in policing in Tulsa in decades. I think the Chief said it very well. This is like turning the light switch on after our officers have been having to grope around in the dark for decades," says Bynum.
Some people expressed concerns about the cameras invading their privacy. The Tulsa Police Department says their policy restricts them from utilizing the alerts as probable cause to stop a vehicle. The department requires the officer to only use the information as a tip.
They still must do their own investigating and research to ensure the vehicle is actively involved in the NCIC database.
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