Yakima police use AI-powered license plate readers to find suspects' cars in real time

In the past five months, Flock Safety cameras have allowed Yakima-area law enforcement officers to arrest an accused kidnapper and child molester, identify a fatal hit-and-run suspect and recover a record number of stolen vehicles. "It's one officer that never sleeps," Yakima Police Capt. "Most of our criminals move throughout the area in a vehicle and this will limit that ability." Flock cameras have helped police recover 37 stolen vehicles, arrest 28 violent persons, serve 19 warrants and locate 16 missing persons -- just in the last month. According to the Yakima Police Department's transparency portal, they have 33 automated license plate recognition cameras placed across the city -- all enabled with artificial intelligence that's helping agencies across the county solve crimes.