MUNCIE — The Muncie Police Department will install 22 automated license plate reading (ALPR) cameras, which Mayor Dan Ridenour's administration says should help "solve and reduce violent crime."
The cameras are a product of Flock Safety, a technology company focused on law enforcement work.
According to a city release, the cameras can send officers a "real-time alert" when they detect a stolen car — or when a vehicle linked to a wanted suspect, or a missing person, is observed.
"We're very excited about it," Muncie Police Chief Nate Sloan said Thursday. "We think it's going to a serious tool, not only in reduction of crime, but in the solving of criminal activity."
The chief said the cameras, had they been in place, could have been "very helpful" in responding to some of the seven homicides in the city and Delaware County during the month of July.
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