by Nicole Bradford
A recently implemented network of automatic license plate readers throughout Pearland is producing results, police say, with 126 arrests thus far.
“The cameras slowly started coming online, going into full force toward the end of last year,” Pearland Police Capt. Derek Dunham said Monday during an update to the city council. “We’re still increasing as far as effectiveness. A lot of that is bringing on additional cameras through HOAs, MUDs, neighboring cities.”
In February 2022, the city agreed to invest in a system of cameras and software that capture license plate numbers and compare them to a database of wanted criminals or persons of interest.
In the past year, the system has generated 1,331 “hits,” leading to 212 charges filed.
“We monitor the stats regularly as far as number of alerts and how they translate into traffic stops, arrests, recovered firearms, stolen vehicles,” Dunham said.
Pearland currently has 31 cameras that scan plates located throughout the city. The City Council, on Monday, voted to renew the annual $77,500 contract for the system.
“I look in the morning at the jail records and see Harris County Sheriff’s, Fort Bend County, Galveston County (holds),” Councilman Alex Kamkar said. “It is having an effect, and it is working.”
The system in the past year has resulted in a dozen stolen firearms seized and $850,000 in recovered property.
“Stolen vehicles are one thing, but the human side is someone who gets lost who has dementia behind the wheel — these types of cameras has spotted them, and officers are able to get them home safely,” Mayor Kevin Cole said.
