Camera System Helps Police Recover Stolen Cars In Locust Grove

Locust Grove Police said a new camera system, installed just two months ago, has been helping them catch people in stolen cars.

They've recovered a half dozen stolen cars in the past month alone.

Thanks to the Flock System cameras set up throughout Locust Grove, suspects driving through town are getting noticed.

"Thinking, 'Hey it's a small town, as long as things are good on the outside, we won't get pulled over,'" said Officer Brittany Church.

The cameras read license plates. If those plates have been flagged in a national database, a text with information on the vehicle is sent to officers' phones.

Officer Brittany Church said they've now stopped stolen cars from Tulsa and Stillwater, and as far away as Ohio.

"It doesn't matter what state your from or where you steal the vehicle out of, if you come here and it goes past one of our readers, we're gonna catch it and we're going to get notified and do a further investigation to get the vehicle," she said.

She said because of Highway 82 and 412 intersecting through town, there's a lot of traffic.

They aren't able to stop every stolen car, but they can give a heads up to other towns that suspects are headed their way.

"We can call county, dispatch, and put out a BOLO which will alert all the towns around us, or the town it's directed towards, to look out for this car, this license plate, and this is the description so they can be on the lookout if they don't have the cameras they can know the car may be coming through their town," she said.

She said the cameras are a big win for Locust Grove.

They've been able to stop a lot of stolen cars and want to send a message to any car thieves who might consider staying in town.

"When they camp up here or when they stay here, then it causes problems to our town because they'll start pushing drugs or start pushing criminal activity here," she said.

There are six cameras in total and they hope to get more.