Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said a new license plate reading system that was put into use in November has had big results.
In a pilot program, the Flock readers are installed in areas of the city with high crime activity. Chief Ramsay told reporters that since the devices were turned on November 9th, “we’ve been astounded at really the amount of information that we’re getting from them and how it has impacted our ability to fight crime.” He said with the help of the system, police have recovered 68 stolen cars with a value of over $580,000. Officers have also recovered 39 stolen license plates and made 39 felony arrests, and 13 guns have been seized, along with drugs and marijuana.
Police lieutenant Casey Slaughter said the readers helped in locating a suspect vehicle after a December 14th homicide in the 9300 block of East Funston, and that led to the arrest of a 17-year-old suspect in the shooting death of Cooper Kelly.
Chief Ramsay said officers are excited at how the program is working and the amount of data that the system has brought in.
Lieutenant Slaughter said the modular device will be installed in a “hot spot” crime area, and the device will be constantly scanning for license plates associated with crimes, felony offenders, and missing persons. He said information can be entered into the system to scan for specific vehicles or license plates.
