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As law enforcement agencies weigh the benefits and concerns associated with automated license plate readers, they need more than individual success stories to guide their decisions. Agencies need evidence about what fixed camera networks can — and cannot — reasonably be expected to accomplish, as well as clear policies for privacy, data retention, auditing and responsible use.
In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Scott Mourtgos, Ph.D., a former police executive and assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of South Carolina. Mourtgos discusses his working paper, “Automated License Plate Readers, Vehicle Theft and Clearance,” co-authored with Ian Adams, Ph.D. Drawing on agency data from 2017 through 2023, the researchers examined whether fixed ALPR networks were associated with changes in vehicle theft, arrest clearances and recovery time.
Tune in to discover:
- What a study of fixed ALPR networks found about vehicle theft, including an approximately 11% decline, and how to read that number for your own jurisdiction
- How arrest clearances rose about 16%, and why the timing points to ALPRs working alongside other enforcement efforts
- Why vehicles that were recovered came back about six hours sooner, and what that tells you about how stolen cars are actually found
- How chiefs and sheriffs can weigh the evidence alongside cost, staffing, privacy and data retention to make the right call for their community
About our sponsor
This episode of the Policing Matters podcast is sponsored by OfficerStore. Learn more about getting the gear you need at prices you can afford by visiting OfficerStore.com.
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