Flock Safety Shares How License Plate Reading Cameras Are A Neighborhood Watch Group’s Best Friend

Neighborhood watch programs play a fundamental role in community safety. They act as the first line of defense in deterring crime and reporting suspicious activity. However, these programs are not all that the community needs.

Most neighborhood residents don’t have the time or desire to remain home all day reporting potential nefarious sightings. They go to work or school, attend appointments, run errands and go on vacations, leaving ample opportunity for crime to strike.

One easy way to bridge the gap between what a traditional neighborhood watch group sees and does not see is by installing license plate reading (LPR) cameras to aid in the effort to monitor the community.

Although there are many models to choose from, there is one company that law enforcement and neighborhood watch groups trust time and time again: Flock Safety.

Flock Safety cameras - watch group’s new best friend

Stops the crime, before it occurs

According to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, over 70% of all crime is committed with a vehicle. That’s why police know that a license plate is the best way to track down suspects.

Flock Safety allows neighborhoods to partner with local police to enable the Hot List function Positioning Flock Safety LPR cameras at the entrances of the community will help police track down evidence and obtain leads fast in the event of a crime. And since the best deterrent to crime is the knowledge that the perpetrator will be caught, Flock cameras and accompanying signs will quickly become a clear warning signal to anyone looking to commit harm.

Flock Safety also allows neighborhoods to partner with local police to enable the Hot List function, which notifies local law enforcement as soon as a known wanted suspect passes the camera. This feature gives residents peace of mind, knowing that any time a suspect or stolen car enters the neighborhood, law enforcement will receive an automatic alert.

Captures unbiased evidence for the neighborhood watch

Traditional neighborhood watch programs depend on everyday people to act as unbiased observers, but whether they know it or not, everybody has predeveloped notions that affect their thought processes and actions. In past cases, neighborhood residents have accidentally identified maintenance workers or delivery drivers as suspects after a crime.

Flock Safety LPR cameras provide wholly objective evidence. License plate reading cameras concern themselves with a vehicle, rather than a person, enabling a more ethical and fair investigation process.

No license plate? No problem

Time after time, legacy LPR cameras fail to solve the crime committed with a vehicle that has stolen tags, temporary license plates, or no license plates at all — a more common occurrence than one might realize. Additionally, many LPR systems are guilty of misreading plate numbers and overlooking suspects.

Flock Safety is different. Flock cameras use machine learning and our patented Vehicle Fingerprint™ technology to identify vehicles and deliver leads without tags. By filtering the vehicle search for a make, model, color, or aftermarket feature, detectives can swiftly identify a suspect.

Enhances home security cameras’ effectiveness

Using existing doorbell cameras to help boost the effectiveness of Flock Safety’s Vehicle Fingerprint™ technology Neighborhood watch members can even use existing doorbell cameras to help boost the effectiveness of Flock Safety’s Vehicle Fingerprint™ technology. Although the scope of a doorbell camera is limited to one small frame, they can provide vehicle descriptions that detectives can feed into the Flock system to generate leads.

This innovative investigative process may save precious time during serious investigations. In LaGrange, Georgia, Detective Jason Duncan’s case was able to use multiple streams of evidence and the Flock system locate a homicide suspect in just 12 hours.

Affordable, easy, and inconspicuous

Flock Safety LPR cameras reduce costs by leveraging solar energy and batteries for power, as well as using LTE (like the typical cell phone) for cloud storage. So, instead of charging exorbitant fees like legacy LPR companies, Flock Safety is able to lease our aesthetically pleasing cameras to communities for only $2,500 per camera per year.

Included in that single cost is installation and maintenance, making leasing an LPR camera effortless. As one HOA president put it “I really think Flock is the best company to deal with, it’s so easy — I don’t want to have to be worried about climbing up on a 15-foot pole to replace a camera, or paying someone to do it for me. That’s nuts.”