Police using newly implemented license plate recognition technology in Cape Girardeau

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) - Police say new license plate recognition technology is now active in Cape Girardeau.

This system is called the FLOCK system.

Bobby Newton with the Cape Girardeau Police Department said, “The FLOCK system is multiple cameras throughout the city that captures license plates that have been entered into the system by the NCIC, which is the national database for the license plates and warrant checks and things like that.”

Newton said this information is stored and secure through the National Crime Information Center.

A Facebook post by the department shows a few concerned comments that this technology might be using facial recognition.

I asked if there was any facial recognition technology.

“No, there’s no type of facial recognition that we capture, it’s basically strictly the back end of the car or the truck, that captures the license plate, and then it gives an alert to the officer that’s working the road, that’s saying there’s either a wanted subject associated with that vehicle or a stolen vehicle or stolen plate, those types of incidents,” replied Newton. “It’s not live, we can’t sit and watch vehicles as they drive by and look at people.”

The website for FLOCK, https://www.flocksafety.com/, shows more than 1 billion license plates have been captured across 42 states each month. As of right now, 120 ‘hot tag alerts’ an hour are sent to authorities.

Newton said more cameras across Cape Girardeau will be installed.

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