The County recently deployed seven license plate reading cameras, credited with reducing crime and aiding in solving cases across thousands of communities nationwide.
According to a news release from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, these cameras, installed last month, can detect stolen vehicles, those linked to crimes, and alert authorities about vehicles associated with amber alerts, silver alerts, or missing person cases.
The cameras send real-time alerts to law enforcement when detecting vehicles of wanted suspects in state and national crime databases.
These measures aim to address the challenge of unsolved property crimes, where 80% of the 7 million cases annually lack license plate information.
The cameras, focused solely on reading license plates and vehicle characteristics, do not identify individuals or detect faces. The Sheriff’s Office emphasizes the cameras’ use exclusively for solving violent and property crimes, excluding minor traffic or parking violations.
Sheriff Gordon Ramsay emphasizes the system’s role in enhancing public safety by locating lost individuals with dementia and apprehending habitual criminals.
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