Police agencies in Madison County are the latest to announce they are adding license plate reader cameras to their line-up of crime-fighting tools.  As IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports, they join more than 100 agencies in Indiana using the same technology.

The license plate reader cameras are stationary and solar-powered. (Courtesy of Flock Safety)

Madison County Sheriff Scott Mellinger says the new cameras won’t stop crime.  But he says the cameras present objective and unbiased evidence to help find known fugitives, stolen vehicles, or even missing people.

“A week doesn’t go by that we don’t take a report of a person possibly suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s who has gotten into a family vehicle and innocently driven away.  And these cameras have been fantastic in locating those persons after they’ve left our jurisdiction.”

The solar-powered stationary license plate reader cameras don’t record car speeds and are not connected to facial recognition or ticketing systems.  Footage not saved as evidence for a trial is deleted after 30 days.

Madison County’s 10 cameras from Georgia-based Flock Safety have been active for about two months.  The Anderson Police Department says it will install 21 of the same cameras in December.  Pendleton is getting four and Ingalls is installing two.

Nearby Muncie announced in August it would install 22 cameras.

Flock Safety is doing big business in Indiana with more than 100 customers – the majority of which are law enforcement agencies.  But not all – Purdue University uses Flock cameras on campus, and the company says it also contracts with K-12 school districts, homeowner’s associations, and small businesses.

A presentation by Flock in Lafayette said each camera comes with a $100 installation fee and a $2,500 annual fee.