New technology helps Fargo police prevent and solve crimes

FARGO, ND (Valley News Live) – New technology is helping Fargo Police prevent and solve crimes.

As part of a pilot program with Flock Safety, the department installed 21 license plate readers and five cameras across the city in June.

“We used our intelligence and analytics team to identify areas where we might have more calls or more traffic,” said Fargo Police Captain Bill Ahlfeldt. “We strategically placed these cameras to get the best results.”

The technology alerts police when they detect a vehicle or person suspected of a crime. It can also be used to help missing people. Patrol cars have similar technology.

According to the police, the system has already helped solve over 50 cases.

“These license plate readers can be programmed to alert us of a hit if someone drives by in a stolen vehicle, if someone is on the terrorist list, if there is a warrant out for their arrest, or even if we identify them as a suspect in one of our crimes,” added Captain Ahlfeldt.

The technology cost about $116,000 and the department was able to fund it through grants. The department is seeking additional funding to better utilize the technology in its real-time crime center.

The goal is to have these systems running on a daily basis. Currently it is only used at large community events.

“It was very useful at our street festival, at one of our parades and at our police picnic,” said Captain Ahlfeldt. “It helped us prevent crimes in most cases. When a crime did happen, we were able to use it to collect evidence.”

Captain Ahlfeldt will give a presentation on the new technology at a City Commission meeting on September 16.

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