A Practical LPR and Video Strategy For Small Patrol Teams

Small and mid-size agencies face the same reality every day: limited patrol officers on shift means you cannot be everywhere at once. Calls come in with little context. High-risk areas go uncovered. Cases frequently stall because there are no witnesses or footage available to identify the vehicles involved.

Visibility is not about adding more hardware. It is about using the right tools in the right places to give officers situational awareness and investigators solid leads without increasing workload or headcount.

That is where pairing Flock’s license plate readers (LPR) with video cameras makes all the difference.

LPR and Video Working Together

Flock LPR provides essential vehicle data: the vehicle's license plates, unique characteristics, time of passage, and direction of travel.

This combination brings clarity to investigations. LPR confirms the vehicle's location at a specific point in time, while video verifies the action. This eliminates guesswork for officers, reduces dead ends for investigators, and cases move faster with evidence that is clear and defensible.

A Plan for Boosting Coverage

To gain visibility without overextending resources or adding headcount, agencies should concentrate their efforts on a strategy designed to maximize efficiency and budget.

Cover Your Primary Entry and Exit Points

Focus coverage on roads where the majority of traffic comes in or goes out. This strategic placement of Flock LPR cameras allows cities and jurisdictions to receive immediate alerts when repeat offenders or known suspects enter or leave their area.

Protect Your Community’s Busiest Places

Focusing coverage on key high-traffic areas (downtowns, parks, shopping centers, parking lots, and busy corridors) can significantly reduce response times where the majority of calls and patrol time are spent.

Gain Broader Visibility at Intersections and Hotspots

Prioritize high-traffic locations such as intersections and community gathering areas. Strategically pairing both LPR and live video cameras in these hotspots enhances situational awareness for agencies. This combination allows for better context surrounding incidents, enables confident validation of behavior, and provides officers with real-time visibility during active situations.

Putting This into Action

Integrating LPR and video offers agencies immediate and significant benefits, including:

• Faster Leads: Every LPR read is paired with a video clip to immediately confirm or dismiss a lead.
• Better Context: See what actually happened before officers respond to calls for service.
• Clearer Routes & Timelines: LPR and video from the same location create precise, defensible timelines.
• Smarter Use of Resources: Invest fewer man-hours reviewing video and pursuing the wrong leads. Dedicate more time to solving cases.

A Turnkey Approach for Smaller Agencies

With Flock, small to mid-sized agencies can build meaningful citywide camera coverage in weeks, and not years, by securing key entry and exit points and adding a few strategic checkpoints. By combining LPR technology with video, agencies gain situational awareness and stronger leads so small teams can stay proactive instead of reactive. Lastly, connecting to Flock’s National LPR Network means agencies can see vehicle activity shared by other jurisdictions and receive alerts when a vehicle of interest appears elsewhere, speeding up investigations and collaboration with partner agencies.

Broaden your coverage today. Get started with Flock now.