When he started patrol work over 20 years ago, Fall River Deputy Chief of Police Barden Castro said, a generic eyewitness account of a crime — “a green car left the scene and I think the plate was, you know, 1-2-3” — could send an officer combing through grainy security footage for hours, knocking on doors and bothering uninvolved people, looking for a match.

 

Now, he said, it’s the total opposite: “OK, green car, 1-2-3? Well, let’s put it in Flock.”

 

For the last five years, the Fall River Police Department has used automated license plate reader cameras manufactured by Flock Safety to help investigate shootings, missing person cases, illegal dumping and at least one bank robbery. While the cameras have raised constitutional and privacy concerns nationwide, FRPD says its own policies safeguard the technology from abuse.

 

Fall River police operates 41 Flock cameras, according to interim Chief of Police J.T. Hoar, located primarily along major streets and entry points to the city.

 

The cameras record and log the license plates of all passing vehicles, creating a searchable database for law enforcement agencies that subscribe to the service. The cameras catch details like the car’s model, color and any dents or distinctive cargo. Fall River data remains in the database for 30 days, according to FRPD policy.

 

See more at heraldnews.com.