Savannah police solve crimes through new camera system

SAVANNAH, Tenn. — New technology is making a local police department’s job easier.

When vehicles are entering or exiting out of the Savannah, they’ll pass by the camera.

What you may not know is that it’s helping the Savannah Police Department keep Savannah and surrounding communities safer.

The Savannah Police Department and Flock Safety Camera System work together to solve cases.

The cameras are integrated with the National Crime Computer System so that the cameras will run a license plate and alert dispatch if the car is identified as being involved in a crime.

“As crime rates were rising in the area, we were looking at various ways that we could combat that. Obviously, you can’t always throw more police at a problem. The advent of newer technology that makes us more efficient. So it takes the officers that we already have and makes them even more efficient. It’s basically a force multiplier,” said Savannah Police Chief Michael Pitts.

The cameras are in busy areas in the city. They help officers know where to find vehicles that have been flagged in the computer system.

“It doesn’t replace the job of the officer. Our policy at Savannah Police Department, the officer still has to go out and physically run that tag, so the system just kind of tells the officer where to look to be more efficient,” Pitts said.

So far the cameras have helped Savannah police recover several stolen vehicles and license plates, apprehend homicide suspects, and locate missing people.

“We’re seeing crime down about 8% in the city, year to date,” Pitts said. “We think it does certainly have an effect. We’re seeing an increase number in arrests.”

Pitts says invasion of privacy should not be a concern.

“It’s not issuing citations. It’s not doing anything like that. It really runs the tags when people drive past them and then that data is only held for 30 days. There’s a lot of fail safes in place that would keep that data from ever being abused,” Pitts said.

The cameras run 24 hours a day and catch every vehicle that passes.

The Savannah Police Department currently has two cameras in the city.

They say three more will be installed within the next two weeks.