CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — The Clay County Sheriff’s Office’s 2018 annual report said the license plate readers have been instrumental in multiple high-profile arrests since the agency started using two of the cameras last year.
The CCSO said an LPR led to Timothy Carrow’s arrest hours after he was accused of shooting another driver.
"It was road rage. The guy was aggressively approaching me, would not get off me," Carrow told Action News Jax in Oct. 2018 as he walked out of jail.
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Lt. Jeff Johnson, who oversees the Clay Community Connect Program, said the LPRs also led to the arrest of Myron William Ernst.
Ernst is accused of robbing banks in multiple states.
“They’re an added set of eyes for law enforcement,” said Johnson.
Action News Jax asked Johnson what he would tell people who are worried about their privacy.
“We’re not monitoring it. We’re not using it for enforcement. It’s not like somebody’s sitting there waiting for somebody to violate the law and then we pounce on them,” said Johnson.
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Johnson said the agency only stores the image of a license plate for 90 days. CCSO stores the data of tag numbers, locations and dates for three years.
“It’s not like we put this in a big file cabinet and hold it for 10 years and I can tell you, you were on Blanding Boulevard 10 years from now,” said Johnson.
Johnson said CCSO hopes to secure grants to add four more LPRs this year.
Action News Jax highlighted St. Johns County Sheriff's Office's LPR program in Nov. 2018.
SJSO has 30 cameras.
According to SJSO, LPRs have led to:
- 130 Stolen Vehicles Recovered
- 91 Stolen Property Recovered
- 49 Wanted Person Arrested
- 172 Persons Arrested
- 280 Felony Charges Cleared
- 149 Misdemeanor Charges Cleared
- 92 Felony Cases Furthered
- 17 Misdemeanor Cases Furthered
- 42 Evidence of Crime Recovered
- 30 Missing Persons Recovered