- The Wakulla County Sheriff's Office has introduced license plate reader (LPR) technology as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance public safety.
- This technology automatically scans and records the license plates of vehicles, helping law enforcement track stolen vehicles, locate suspects, and assist in investigations.
- Watch the video to see how officers are using this technology
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
You may have seen these license plate readers around the county. Here's how officers are using this new tool.
"These are here for your safety, this for us to help solve crime and keep people safe," said Brett Surace with the Wakulla County Sheriff's Office. He explains that the cameras will primarily be used to help solve crimes.
"Usually it's more for stolen plates, stolen vehicles, wanted people, purple alerts, amber alerts, missing persons, and a lot of different things we could utilize," Surace said. He added that the technology can help locate suspects much quicker.
"Recently there was a hit-and-run of a juvenile, and within days we were able to locate the suspect, but this would've taken probably minutes to hours to locate the driver with this technology," Surace explained.
He emphasized that the readers will not be used for traffic violations.
With Wakulla County being spread out, Surace highlighted that the license plate readers will assist in monitoring several locations. "736 miles is the size of Wakulla County, we only have a certain amount of deputies working at one time. This again becomes a full-force multiplier, where we have additional manpower helping us," Surace said.
There will be 25 different locations being monitored by these readers in the county, and they’re in the process of setting them up.
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