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DeKalb news: Brookhaven police say license plate program focused on serious crime

Brookhaven Police analyzed crime stats for the first seven months of 2017 and determined that bars should not be allowed to serve alcohol after 2 a.m. AJC file photo
Brookhaven Police analyzed crime stats for the first seven months of 2017 and determined that bars should not be allowed to serve alcohol after 2 a.m. AJC file photo
By
April 20, 2018

Days after revealing details about a network of cameras used to read millions of license plates, the city of Brookhaven provided data about the program and how it's being used.

The license plate reader program launched in November through a partnership with Georgia Power to install a network of 44 cameras connected to wifi. During the month of March, 1.9 million licenses tag were read, the city said during a public safety town hall on Thursday night.

VIDEO: In other DeKalb news

The burglaries took place in a DeKalb County neighborhood.

About 95,000 plate numbers came back as “hits” meaning infractions were on file. But the vast majority of them -- about 70,000 -- were for non-violent charges like expired tags, lapsed insurance and suspended licenses. Brookhaven officials said they aren’t interested in pursuing those case and instead are focused on catching suspects of more serious crimes like robbery or assault.

“It’s kind of a win-win for law enforcement and hopefully will keep crime out of the city,” Mayor John Ernst said.

About the Author

Tia Mitchell is the AJC’s Washington Bureau Chief and a co-host of the "Politically Georgia" podcast. She writes about Georgia’s congressional delegation, campaigns, elections and the impact that decisions made in D.C. have on residents of the Peach State.

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