Simplified: The Sioux Falls Police Department recently purchased some new automated license plate readers to assist in solving crimes, and Police Chief Jon Thum told the City Council this week about both the new cameras and the next types of technology the department is exploring adding in the future.

Why it matters

  • Councilors this week approved a $168,000 contract with Flock Safety, a Georgia-based public safety technology company. The contract includes about two dozen license plate reader cameras and the requisite operating system to use them.
  • Chief Thum told councilors the city has been thinking about these automated license plate readers for some time, but the police department wanted to make sure adding the new technology is the right decision for our community – an approach he said the department will also take with future technologies it's researching.
  • He also shared details about a new Real Time Information Center (RTIC) at the downtown Law Enforcement Center. That's something police implemented after seeing other cities use a similar model to leverage technology in real time response to calls.
"We’re seeing other people catch our bad guys with this technology in their community, and we want to bring that to our community," Thum said.

Tell me more about what's in place now

Right now, the city has a network of cameras that record public buildings, parks, recreation trails and many intersections and roads.

"This allows us the chance to solve crime with video," Thum said, noting a homicide that took place in a parking lot outside Carnegie Town Hall in which a suspect was caught with the help of video footage.

Now, the RTIC gives the police a place to respond to monitor and respond to calls in real time, including automated license plate readers that will alert police if a plate listed in a national database is detected in Sioux Falls.

  • These cameras do not use facial recognition, collect biometric data, track speeding or alert police to cars running red lights, Thum said. Rather, they simply read license plates and alert officers of wanted vehicles.
  • Thum also shared two recent examples where suspects of crimes committed in Sioux Falls were caught with license plate readers in other cities and states, including a homicide suspect who was found in South Carolina.

Tell me more about future tech plans

The department is also looking at ways to partner with local businesses to, if needed, use their private security systems to help solve crimes.

  • Essentially, businesses could opt in to allow police access to their camera feeds in case of emergency.

In addition, Thum said police are researching the following:

  • Body cameras that can translate to different languages, allowing on-scene translation,
  • Body and in-car cameras that can stream to the RTIC,
  • Ways to provide GPS locations of officers when they're not in their vehicle.