New camera system helping Utah police agencies find vehicles associated with crimes

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to remove the Salt Lake City Police Department as one of the agencies listed as using the new system.

SALT LAKE CITY — Dozens of police departments across Utah are using a new camera system to identify and locate vehicles that may have been involved in crimes.

The new system created by the company Flock Safety uses cameras to take pictures of the back of vehicles, including the license plate. 

How police can use the camera system

Cedar City Police Chief Darin Adams said the system can then compare those pictures to databases and identify vehicles that may be of interest to officers.

“It just gives us the ability to say ‘Okay, this vehicle went by there. Let me try to locate it, and, you know, have reasonable suspicion to stop it and then start asking questions and build my case,” Adams said. “They are just querying that existing database and if that plate happens to be lifted in the database as stolen or it’s part of an Amber Alert or a kidnapping or a robbery or any other number of criminal events that was tied to that car, then the camera system alerts law enforcement. So, I get a note on my app that says this car just passed this camera, this plate just passed this camera.”

Adams said police can also put a description of a vehicle into the system’s “hot list” if they don’t have a license plate number, or only have a partial number.

The system will note the description, show how many cars matching that description have passed by and share their plate numbers.

“So I could just put in, ‘it was a brown Ford F-150, but it had a black camper shell on it.’ I put that in the system and then any car that matches that description, that will tag and send me the alert saying ‘Hey this vehicle just went by, it was a brown Ford, black camper shell.”

Adams said one big advantage of the system is helping officers locate the vehicle they’re looking for.

“So, if there’s a scenario where we have, you know, somebody stopped by an elementary school, attempt to abduct a child, and the teacher gets the plate, the vehicle takes off. We can enter that in there, and if that vehicle passes by one of our cameras or a camera in Salina, or Provo … we’ll get a notification.”

Not a speed camera

Adams said it is important to note what this system does not do.

“This doesn’t apply to expired registration. It is not a speed camera. These are cameras that simply take a still image of the plate and it’s the rear plate. So we’re not capturing the driver, the driver’s face, the occupants,” Adams said. “We want to make sure people understand that it’s not intended to do that. It’s very narrowly focused. As you look at the myriad of crimes that occur, and suspects outstanding and victimization, we just want the ability to have technology and leverage that to our advantage to ensure our community can be even safer than it is.”

Who is using it?

According to Adams, the following departments are currently using the new Flock Safety camera system:

• West Valley City
• Tooele Police Department
• Tooele County Sheriff’s Office
• Clearfield
• Salina
• Saratoga Springs
• Utah Transit Authority
• West Jordan
• Ogden
• Utah County Sheriff’s Office
• Spanish Fork
• Salem
• Springville
• South Salt Lake
• Centerville
• Juab County Sheriff’s Office
• Utah Highway Patrol
• Lonepeak Police Department in Alpine-Highland
• Lyndon
• Clinton
• Nephi
• North Ogden
• Grantsville
• Provo
• Weber County
• North Salt Lake
• Kaysville
• Orem
• Pleasant Grove
• BYU Police Department

“Now we just have extra eyes out there looking for this where obviously officers can’t be everywhere at once. So it’s a huge force multiplier,” Adams said.

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