By Police1 Staff
ATLANTA — Flock Safety’s #Solved Awards celebrate law enforcement agencies and officers who have leveraged cutting-edge technology to solve complex crimes. This year’s winners offer a compelling glimpse into the power of innovation in the field, showcasing cases where advanced tools like license plate readers (LPRs) and mobile surveillance transformed investigations and brought justice to communities.
Here are some of this year’s recipents whose work has had a profund impact on their communities. Click here for a list of all the award recipients.
1. Stopping gun violence before it escalates
In Volusia County, Florida, Detectives Eugene Mefford and Jayson Richardson, along with Crime Analyst Jessica Hudson, pieced together the movements of a shooting suspect using traffic cameras and Flock LPR technology, solving the case within four days.
Case details: In August of this year, two victims were seriously injured in a shooting at their home. With few initial leads, Detective Jayson Richardson identified a suspicious vehicle on traffic cameras, leading detectives to uncover the suspect’s pattern of traveling weekly from Atlanta to Deltona, swapping tags to avoid detection. Through extensive analysis of traffic cameras and LPRs, detectives tracked the suspect’s movements, resulting in an arrest warrant. Using Flock cameras, the suspect was apprehended near Detroit before he could flee.
2. A race against time to save a missing teen
Detective Joshua Shuford of the Garden City Police Department used a combination of Flock technology and phone pings to locate a missing 15-year-old girl. The case, which began with a ransom call in Georgia, ended with the teen’s safe recovery in Louisiana, thanks to swift and innovative police work.
Case details: After a mother reported her 15-year-old daughter missing in Georgia, she received a ransom call. Detective Shuford immediately began searching for the girl. A tip from a man who had transported the juvenile led to the identification of a female driver in a white Chevy Tahoe. Using Flock technology and an exigent phone ping request, Det. Shuford tracked the vehicle to Louisiana, where local officials safely located the juvenile en route to Texas.
3. Enhancing officer safety in high-stakes situations
Corporal Joseph VonBank of the Gary Police Department used LPR data to safely intercept a suspect vehicle involved in a motel shooting. Flock’s tools not only helped identify the car but also provided situational awareness to ensure officers were prepared during the arrest.
Case details: Earlier this year, after responding to a gunshot victim at a local motel, Cpl. VonBank used Flock LPR technology to identify a suspect vehicle, adding it to a custom hotlist. Shortly after, the vehicle was detected near the crime scene, leading to its interception at a nearby truck stop with the help of the RTCC and a neighboring agency. Two suspects were taken into custody, and a firearm was recovered.
4. Preventing high-stakes robberies
Detective Jordan Laverty of the Dunwoody Police Department unraveled a jewelry robbery ring spanning the East Coast by identifying and tracking a secondary suspect vehicle. This insight enabled law enforcement to apprehend the suspects without endangering the public, a feat Laverty credits to the precision of Flock’s LPR system.
Case details: Detective Laverty from the Dunwoody Police Department leveraged Flock Safety’s technology to apprehend a jewelry robbery crew operating along the East Coast, in partnership with a federal agency. After receiving a tip from a federal agency about a planned heist in their jurisdiction, Detective Laverty utilized Flock’s network of LPR cameras to identify an unknown secondary vehicle traveling alongside the primary suspect’s car. This crucial discovery allowed law enforcement to coordinate a safe takedown, apprehending all suspects without endangering the public. “It would have been chasing a needle in a haystack if we didn’t have the camera system,” he noted.
5. Real-time policing saves lives
Tactical Analyst Katie Johnston with Spokane County Sheriff’s Office used Flock cameras and social media data to locate a domestic violence suspect who had fled the scene. Her real-time coordination ensured a swift arrest, demonstrating how technology can be a lifeline in critical moments.
Case details: Spokane County Sheriff’s Office RTCC Tactical Analyst Katie Johnston played a crucial role in apprehending a domestic violence suspect. After the suspect fled the scene, Johnston used Flock LPR cameras to track the vehicle’s direction and combined this with information from social media and a business license search to pinpoint the suspect’s likely location. Her insights led patrol deputies to the suspect’s employer, where the suspect was apprehended for Assault 4 DV. This is just one of many instances where Johnston’s expertise with Flock and other resources has enabled deputies to quickly locate and arrest violent suspects. She also manages the deployment of Flock field assets, including Falcon Flex cameras and mobile LPR units, highlighting her dedication to the success of the SCSO RTCC Flock program.
|RELATED: Case study: Spokane County Sheriff’s Office RTCC brings order, efficiency to local law enforcement
6. Inter-agency collaboration to solve a homicide
Detectives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and officers in Elkhart, Indiana, worked seamlessly together to track a homicide suspect fleeing across state lines. Using Flock Safety alerts, the team apprehended the suspect within hours, highlighting the importance of inter-agency cooperation supported by real-time technology.
Case details: In August 2024, an individual traveled from Michigan to Indiana for a drug deal that turned into a robbery and homicide. After the suspect committed a fatal shooting, witnesses provided his license plate number to Detective Mike Dickey. Detectives A. Miller and R. Nystuen entered the plate into Flock, tracking the vehicle’s movements and creating a hotlist alert. As the suspect and his accomplice headed back to Michigan, a Flock camera in Indiana flagged their vehicle, enabling Elkhart Police to intercept them less than two hours after the shooting.
These cases, among others, illustrate how technology is revolutionizing law enforcement by enabling officers to act swiftly and decisively. From solving homicides and thwarting robberies to finding missing persons, technology is giving officers a vital advantage in modern law enforcement.
