A report of a stolen car with a 6-year-old child in the back seat sent Lynn, Massachusetts, police into a race against the clock. The Lynn Police Department used Flock license plate reader cameras to show the car had left Lynn for Saugus, allowing dispatchers to decide which neighboring departments to call. Lynn police also notified Massachusetts State Police, started the AMBER Alert process, and tried to locate a cell phone inside the vehicle.

Everett police found and stopped the car 39 minutes after the report, and the child was recovered safely and taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for evaluation. A 26-year-old man was arraigned in Lynn District Court on charges including kidnapping, reckless endangerment of a child, and receiving a stolen motor vehicle. Lynn’s police chief said the priority was finding the child and that technology like Flock gives officers valuable investigative information.

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