License plate readers vital in helping Decatur and Hartselle police solve crime

Yahoo

06-03-2025

Mar. 6—Local police officials say having modern technology like license plate readers strategically placed throughout their cities has been instrumental in aiding patrol officers in locating stolen vehicles, wanted suspects and missing people.
Decatur police Capt. Justin Lyon, commander of the Management Services Division, said the department uses automated license plate readers known as Flock cameras, which are mounted on poles along roadways and powered by small solar panels. He declined to disclose the number of cameras in use, citing concerns that doing so could compromise their effectiveness.
"The system has evolved dramatically from when we first got into this," Lyon said. "It was already well established in some of the major cities in the United States, mainly up North and some of the bigger cities down South. Once we started hearing success stories, we looked into adopting it."
Lyon said the Decatur Police Department uses the cameras to help them locate missing people, stolen vehicles, people subject to amber alerts, and similar emergency calls. He said the Flock cameras can detect the state and tag numbers as well as the make of the vehicle but cannot detect the specific model and they can only retain data for 30 days.
"It'll tell you it's a Mercedes-Benz, but not an S400," Lyon said. "It can decipher colors relatively well, but the tag is a really high probability of accuracy. They've incorporated (artificial intelligence) into it to make it more accurate."
Lyon said they have had massive success with the cameras in locating stolen vehicles.
"As soon as central dispatch gets the call, they enter in all the information and then dispatch it out to officers to check it out," Lyon said.
Lyon said the cameras have been valuable for the Criminal Investigations Unit in tracking robbery and breaking-and-entering suspects traveling in vehicles, leading to successful arrests.
Homeowners associations can also purchase Flock cameras for their subdivisions, Lyon said, and partner with their local police departments when their cameras receive alerts. He said some businesses have them as well.
"The Decatur Lowe's and the Lowe's stores in counties around us all have Flock cameras," Lyon said.
Lyon said he has heard public concerns about privacy invasion from the cameras but said they only detect vehicles linked to crimes, missing people or abductions, so those who do not meet those criteria have nothing to worry about.
"If you haven't committed a crime, and you're not missing or anything like that, then no one is going to know you went in front of the camera," Lyon said.
Hartselle Interim Police Chief Alan McDearmond said he has also heard some citizens raise concerns about the cameras invading their privacy, but he believes they may not fully recognize their benefits. He said his department has eight cameras located in the city limits.
"The same people that's going to complain about their privacy being invaded are the ones that's going to be calling wanting to know why we haven't recovered their stolen vehicle," McDearmond said.
In April 2023, Hartselle police located a vehicle reported stolen from Massachusetts, and data from the National Crime Information Center, which is integrated with the Flock cameras, suggested a possible connection to a missing person. McDearmond tracked down the vehicle near the Flock camera and located Antonio Jose Concepcion Ferrer and a woman police say was kidnapped.
Ferrer now faces an April 7 jury trial on charges of kidnapping and assault.
McDearmond said recently they were able to make another arrest with the assistance of Flock cameras. A suspect was apprehended in Cullman on Feb. 13, four days after he allegedly burglarized a business in Hartselle.
"A subject stole several tools from our Parks and Recreation," McDearmond said. "He was all over the place and they used Flock cameras to assist with that investigation. Even though they may not tip us off at the beginning about something, that doesn't mean we can't go back and research on a case."
The suspect, Decatur resident Cody Lance Hitt, was driving a white truck with a trailer attached, according to a police affidavit, and McDearmond said the Flock cameras detected the tags on his truck and trailer as he was traveling through the city. He was charged with third-degree burglary and released after posting a $2,500 bond. Hartselle police said he will likely face more charges.
Lyon said the first year his department utilized the cameras, they gave them leads on a capital murder suspect and helped them establish a timeline.
"It sped the process up and let us know that that's our car," Lyon said.
Lyon said adding tools like drones and license plate readers has been revolutionary not only for the Decatur Police Department, but departments across the country.
"It's a tool where otherwise we would have absolutely zero idea on a lot of cases if it was not there," Lyon said of the cameras. "It can be instantaneous and can make what may be a year-long investigation three to six months or maybe even three to six minutes. We use (drones) more for evidence gathering and safety for the officers."
McDearmond said locating stolen vehicles was more challenging before his department obtained Flock cameras. Previously, an officer had to be directly behind a car to check its tag, but now the cameras provide coverage across the city.
"It's hard to plug all those tag numbers in on your laptop while driving down the road, but every vehicle that passes that reader gets queried through the NCIC system," McDearmond said. "So, it's definitely a 100% game-changer."
— [e-mail] or 256-340-2442.