Moore Police, Residents Track Stolen Cars Using License Plate Reading Cameras

Tracking stolen cars or other crime in the metro was made easier for law enforcement. Metro neighborhoods have installed cameras that can read license plates which links directly to police.

A neighborhood in Moore recently started a partnership with the Moore Police Department. Police officials said their dispatch is alerted in seconds if one of the neighborhood cameras detects a stolen car or a wanted suspect.

The Sendera Lakes neighborhood near SW 34th Street and Telephone Road was the first in Moore to install cameras that read license plates. The former homeowner’s association president Eva Fossey said a string of thefts late last year prompted the extra security.

“No individual homeowner has to take the responsibility of monitoring them," Fossey said. “But it’s directly linked to the police department and they can go after the perpetrator.”

Staff Sgt. David Dickinson with the Moore Police Department is one of the first to be alerted if the cameras spot a stolen car or license plate. The alert also goes to police dispatchers.

“If it is stolen, it’s confirmed,” Dickinson said. “Then officers are immediately dispatched to the area.”

Last month, Moore police recovered two stolen moving vans.

“Of the two stolen vehicles, one was caught later in the day or identified later that day and the other one was caught as it was leaving the addition. So, like quick,” said Dickinson.

The information caught on camera helped nab another type of thief. A builder caught a person driving away from a construction site with a load of stolen lumber.

“We kind of out two and two together,” said Dickinson. “He got a license plate. The easiest way to look in the system is to type in a license plate, and it pops right up.”

Dickinson said Moore police would like to have more partnerships like the on with Sendera Lakes.

“We hope this is just a start, because we have many homeowners associations that are large enough that they could benefit from it,” said Dickinson.

Dickinson said there are some neighborhoods in Oklahoma City and Tulsa that use the same cameras.