Local neighborhoods deploying new technology to catch criminals

DULUTH, Ga. — Local communities fed up with crime are paying for their own license plate readers to fight back.

One community in Duluth is about to invest in the system, and residents in the Johns Creek neighborhood said that although some had concerns about privacy, many have noticed a decrease in crime.

The Atlanta based company behind them said they have proven to reduce crime 25-50%.

"You can't ever be too careful, and we've got to protect our kids and our families," resident Andrea Keeble said.

It's a deterrent that local communities are banking on to keep them safe and give police another tool to solve crime.

TRENDING STORIES:

"From intruders, people walking by, solicitors. You just don't ever know," resident Nancy Burchett said.

They are wireless license plate reading cameras, but they do not belong to the city.

They are paid for and owned by homeowners associations. They're in place all across the metro Atlanta.

A community in Duluth is planning on installing the cameras in September, but the Johns Creek community already has a camera up and rolling.

"They can track it down to a specific incident that happened in a specific time frame. I think that's going to be a huge deterrent," Keeble said.

Channel 2 Action News covered a story back in December where two jewelry thieves were busted in Buckhead after Flock Safety cameras captured the tag on their red van.

"We put a guy behind bars on almost a daily basis with the use of this technology and more importantly in our average neighborhood, we see anywhere from a 25-55% reduction in crime," Flock Safety CEO, Garrett Langley said.

"Actually I haven't seen anything in quite a long time," Burchett said.

The Flock Safety CEO said the HOAs own the data and individual residents can opt out having footage of their cars automatically removed if there's a concern about privacy.

"I think I maybe heard one or two people buzzing about it, but I think overall people are more concerned about their safety," Keeble said.

The information is deleted every 30 days.

Cox Media Group