Flock Safety license plate readers are being installed across Perkins County to assist with fighting crime

Having an extra set of eyes on any situation is a good thing. That is what the Perkins County Sheriff’s Office is banking on with the implementation of the Flock Safety Automated License Plate Reader system throughout the county.

With more than 880 square miles to patrol, and only three deputies on staff, PCSO turned to the fledgling Flock Safety technology company to help eliminate crime and keep Perkins County communities safer.

“We didn’t install the system to keep tabs on local people, but to keep tabs on those moving through our county,” said Perkins County Sheriff James Brueggeman.

By the end of December 2024, Brueggeman hopes that all 10 cameras will be installed on various highway locations throughout the county. The cameras will read license plates 24/7, and use AI generated software to cross reference plates with state and federal crime databases to determine if a vehicle, or someone associated with a vehicle, is connected to a crime.

According to FLOCK Safety Public Relations Manager Connor Metz, all data collected with the system is fully encrypted while on the device and while being transmitted to the cloud and stored. All data is owned by the law enforcement partner entirely, Metz said.

There are currently 5,000 law enforcement agencies through the United States using the system, with approximately 20 of them in Nebraska, Metz said. Metz pointed out a recent study conducted by Flock Safety, along with independent criminologists from the University of Texas at Tyler and TCU, that found that Flock Safety has been instrumental in helping solve around 10% of reported crime nationwide.

Sheriff Brueggeman pointed out that an advantage of the company is that it allows all Flock Safety system users anywhere in the United States to share data with partnering law enforcement agencies.

Brueggeman said the system is “phenomenal” in its ability to capture quality images, day or night, and compare those images to national law enforcement databases. In fact, within just one week of the first camera being up and running, PCSO got a lead on one of their investigations, Brueggeman said.

“We look forward to getting the entire system up and running and expect additional investigative and crime fighting benefits from the system once it is fully operational,” Brueggeman said. 

To access various points along the highways, Perkins County needed to get Inter-local Agreements signed with the City of Grant, and the Villages of Elsie, Venango and Madrid, along with the State of Nebraska. Currently all have been signed expect for Venango, which is in the works, Brueggeman said. 

To learn more about Flock Safety, visit their website at www.flocksafety.com and view the entire study on Flock Safety systems referenced above at https://www.researchgate.net/ and searching for “Flock Safety Technologies in Law Enforcement.”