Flock Safety Cameras Aid Major Sex Offense Arrest

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - Sheriff Howell concluded his report by providing an audit of the newly integrated Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) network, demonstrating an immediate return on investment for local investigators. The camera grid logged 82,910 total vehicle reads during the audit window.

Local detectives utilized the system to execute 19 targeted searches regarding active sex offense investigations. Howell revealed that all 19 system searches were directly tied to a singular high-stakes case, providing the pivotal vehicle-tracking data needed to successfully apprehend a suspect charging toward prosecution.

“There was a total of 19 sex offense searches,” Howell shared. “And all 19 of those helped lead to the arrest of a child in possession manufacturing porn... It did aid in that arrest, and it’s still an ongoing investigation that we’ve got going with the DCI.”

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