How Police Are Using License Plate Readers to Locate Suspects and Bring Missing People Home Safely

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It started with a phone call, a witness statement, or a parent walking a child to school. In each case, officers took that first lead and put Flock technology to work.

Urgent Cases and Safe Recoveries

Bakersfield, CA: Deputies Use Flock to Find a Kidnapping Suspect Within Hours

‍In Bakersfield, California, witnesses told Kern County deputies they saw a woman in her 30s being pulled into a lowered Chevrolet truck. Deputies used Flock camera data to identify where the truck had been seen in east Bakersfield, then continued the investigation until they found it hours later. They arrested a 38-year-old man at a home, where the victim was found uninjured. The man was booked on kidnapping, domestic violence, weapon, and narcotics charges.

Yuba City, CA: Officers Pull Endangered Missing Teen From Burning Car After Flock Search

A 17-year-old girl went missing from Yuba City, California. Detectives learned she had been talking with a 26-year-old Texas man who had recently traveled to town and had pending child sexual abuse material charges in Texas. They entered his vehicle into Flock’s license plate reader camera system and learned it was in the Bakersfield area. When officers tried to stop him, he fled through the Kern River Canyon and drove off a cliff. Officers pulled both Childers and the teen from the burning vehicle, and both survived with non-life-threatening injuries. Childers was charged with child abduction, kidnapping, and rape.

Wauwatosa, WI: Police Use Flock to Locate Suspect in Child Sexual Assault Case

‍In Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a Flock alert helped officers quickly locate a vehicle tied to a case involving the repeated sexual assault of a child. Police found and arrested the suspect. “When someone is wanted in connection with a serious crime, locating them matters,” the Wauwatosa Police Department wrote.

Sweetwater, TN: Police Use Flock to Locate Suspect in Child Human Trafficking Case

‍Flock helped police in Sweetwater, Tennessee, develop a lead in the search for a man wanted for human trafficking, sexual exploitation of a minor, and abduction of a child.

Crowley, TX: Child in Danger Inside Stolen Vehicle Found Safe by Officers Using Flock

‍When a vehicle was stolen from a Walmart Fuel Center in Crowley, Texas, with a 6-year-old inside, Flock helped officers find the vehicle, and the child was recovered safely. The suspect fled the area on foot but was located and taken into custody in Fort Worth.

Richmond, VA: Officers Find Infant, Toddler With Autism in Stolen SUV Using Flock

‍In Richmond, Virginia, a mother credits Flock cameras with helping officers find a stolen SUV with her children inside. The mother says she was visiting a friend, and when she turned away from the vehicle, a man jumped inside and drove off with her 1-month-old and 3-year-old with autism inside. She is now asking for more cameras in her community.

"What if it was your child that was missing and the only way for someone to locate their car within a reasonable time before anything [happened] was cameras that [were] put around the city…?” said the woman.

A Flock license plate reader camera captured the license plate number, and officers reunited the children with their mother within an hour.  

Keeping Schools Safe

Durango, CO: Police Seize Cocaine, Two Firearms Near Park Elementary After Flock Alert

‍A parent walking a child to an elementary school in Durango saw what looked like two separate drug exchanges and told a school official. 

Police received a Flock license plate reader alert on a vehicle suspected of being tied to an armed, violent felony suspect wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service. Officers found the blue Jeep near the elementary school and a known drug house. Officers arrested two suspects, one of whom had felony warrants. 

A search of the vehicle turned up cocaine and two firearms, including a 9 mm handgun with an extended magazine. Police credited Flock camera data with helping develop leads that led to the arrests.

Investigating Financial Scams

‍Melvindale, MI: Police Use Flock to Catch Suspect Who Took Cash From Senior

‍A senior in Melvindale, Michigan, lost nearly $6,000 to a bank impersonation scam. A man reportedly showed up at her door claiming to be a bank employee, and the woman handed over her banking information. A Flock camera alert helped police arrest a suspect. 

Supporting Safer Communities

Altoona, IA: Officers Arrest Suspects in 27 Car Burglaries With Help From Flock

‍Police in Altoona, Iowa, arrested suspects in 27 car burglaries over four days after a Flock alert helped identify a vehicle lead. Altoona police located a suspect vehicle connected to the burglaries just one minute after a Flock camera triggered an alert. 

Raleigh, NC: Police Report Falling Crime With 68 Flock-Linked Successes

‍Raleigh police reported that most crime categories fell in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Homicides and robberies saw large dips, commercial burglaries dropped 32 percent, and vehicle thefts fell 26 percent.

The department credited Flock cameras with 68 “public safety successes,” defined as arrests, leads, warrants, or stops explicitly tied to a Flock hit. 

Henderson, KY: Officers Use Flock to Find Shooting Suspect, Return Missing Person, and Arrest Alleged Stalker

‍Henderson, Kentucky’s police chief credits Flock with helping find the suspect in a shooting. He also points to a recent missing-person case and the arrest of an alleged stalker, saying the department is helping return loved ones to their families, recover property, and advance shooting investigations.

Flint, MI: Police Report a 43% Drop in Homicide Rate

‍In Flint, Michigan, police reported that the homicide rate has dropped about 43%.

Flint Police Chief Terence Green told the city council that the department has 93 Flock LPR cameras and wants to expand the network.

Green said the system has aided “hundreds” of investigations over nearly five years and credited it with helping drive a roughly 43 percent drop in homicides. He said the department has found no misuse by its officers, that a sergeant audits the data, and that searches require an incident number.

Supporting Serious Investigations

Houston, TX: Police Use Flock to Help Solve Road Rage Shooting That Killed a 5-Year-Old Girl

A 5-year-old girl was fatally shot while riding in her mother’s car in the Cypress area of Houston, in what prosecutors describe as an act of road rage. The 47-year-old suspect allegedly shot at the woman’s car and hit the girl in the head. She died after being flown to the hospital. Investigators used Flock cameras to locate the suspect’s Ford F-350. He is charged with capital murder of a person under 10.

Indianapolis, IN: Officers Use LPR to Locate the Suspect in a Hit-And-Run Crash That Killed a 9-Year-Old Boy

A 9-year-old boy died, and a 6-year-old boy was critically injured after a black Ford SUV ran over them while they played in a grassy area in Indianapolis. According to court documents, the driver cut a right turn too sharply and drove over the curb. He told detectives he briefly stopped, then drove away. 

Neighbors and video footage provided police with a description of the driver and the SUV, including its license plate number. Officers then used license plate readers to locate the car and found it in line at a carwash. Officers arrested the 31-year-old driver and charged him with failing to remain at the scene of an accident resulting in death and failing to remain at the scene of an accident resulting in serious injury. 

Skyway, WA: Detectives Use Flock to Locate Suspect in Fatal Shooting of Coast Guard Member

A 29-year-old Coast Guard member was fatally shot in Skyway, Washington, after an altercation with the people inside a passing Toyota Prius. 

Detectives gathered video from nearby security cameras and entered the car’s details into the Flock system. Two days later, Kent police got a Flock hit on the vehicle, which fled from police at up to 100 mph before the 18-year-old driver was arrested. A revolver was recovered, and the state crime lab matched it to the bullet taken from the victim’s body. The suspect is charged with second-degree murder.

Supporting Retail-Area Investigations

Kenner, LA: Police Use Flock to Solve Carjacking Case

‍In Kenner, Louisiana, an 80-year-old was beaten and carjacked, and a Flock camera helped police identify a lead that supported a quick arrest. Chief Keith Conley said the case reflected a pattern affecting retail areas around town.

What Do These Cases Have in Common? 

These cases show the role Flock cameras play in day-to-day policing, from locating a stolen SUV with two small children inside to identifying the vehicle in a fatal road rage shooting. In most cases, Flock gave officers a lead within hours of the incident. As more departments report arrests, recoveries, and falling crime tied to the system, these stories point to a technology becoming a core part of how police respond to everything from burglaries to homicides.