Flock cameras invaluable in solving crimes

The use of Flock cameras has proven to be “invaluable” in the solving of crimes and in locating those who may be endangered missing persons, said Miami County Sheriff Dave Duchak.

Tipp City police have also had positive experiences with the cameras, according to Police Chief Greg Adkins.

The automated license plate readers provide a still image of a vehicle and its license plate number. It sends real-time alerts if the plate number belongs to a stolen vehicle or is one being sought by law enforcement because of an AMBER alert or other missing person alert. The readers are not used for facial recognition or in traffic enforcement, police say.

The Tipp City Police Department uses eight Flock Safety ALPR systems strategically placed across the city. Users also have shareable access to systems across the country.

In 2024, officers used Flock Safety in 53 criminal investigations and made 21 arrests. Since the implementation of the system, 51 criminal arrests have occurred because of Flock Safety ALPR, Adkins said.

Sheriff’s deputies have used the cameras in many criminal investigations to include thefts, stolen vehicles, burglaries and arson to name a few, Duchak said. He said one of the county’s judges recently said she is seeing a lot of cases coming through her court in which Flock cameras were used.

The sheriff’s office currently maintains 12 cameras in the county.  The locations are coordinated with the cities that have them to ensure the maximum benefit.  Troy Police just recently added four cameras making their total 12.  West Milton Police Department has two and the county park district five, he said. “We do not have plans at this time to add cameras, but that is always subject to review, Duchak said.

Among successes involving the cameras:

Duchak:

-  An endangered senior from Indiana was located coming into the county on West U.S. Route 36. Covington police were able to get the vehicle stopped and the missing person reunited with her family. 

- The cameras were also used recently to track a homicide suspect to his residence in Union Township where he murdered his father, which assisted with the timeline of events.

Tipp City: Capt. Tony Smith reported,

- “The department received a report of a stolen semi-trailer last May.  Often times, these are misplaced by large companies or taken by accident by their own drivers.  This was different. We were able to use onboard GPS trackers on the trailer to determine that the GPS was cut within minutes of the trailer being taken, telling us that the trailer was likely stolen.  We were then able to use cameras from the business it was taken from to identify unique characteristics and a partial license plate on that stolen trailer.

Utilizing FLOCK readers, we were able to determine that the thief had used the same license plate on other trailers as far away as Texas. We developed a pattern and a timeline of this driver’s whereabouts and a rough number of trailers that were involved.  Utilizing this information, we recovered a second stolen trailer on the same company lot where the original report was taken.  

Based on FLOCK data, we were able to determine that this same driver had stolen a semi-trailer in Dallas, Texas, put his license plate on it and made deliveries until he ended up in Tipp City.  He then left that trailer here and stole a new one.  After the theft, we were able to track it to Michigan and Indiana, presumably conducting the same kinds of crime.  This case is pending the apprehension of the suspect.”

“Prior to Flock, this would be a nearly unsolvable case,” Smith said.

INFO BOX:

Examples of How Flock Safety Cameras Have Been Used:

·         Recovering stolen vehicles

·         Arresting wanted persons

·         Solving burglaries, hit-and-runs, robberies and other crimes

·         Locating missing people

·         Helping police solve crimes faster

·         Providing real-time information to officers during traffic stops

(Source: Tipp City Police Department)