On Monday, at approximately 5:50 pm, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Logan Faulkner was traveling on Highway 153 and observed a silver GMC Acadia sitting stationary on the side of the roadway.

As the deputy drove by the vehicle, he was notified by his in-car Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) that the vehicle in question was possibly stolen. Upon further investigation the vehicle was confirmed to be stolen out of Crossville, Tennessee, and abandoned in Hamilton County. The vehicle was then cleared, found to be unoccupied, and impounded.

“As sheriff, part of my vision is the pursuit of technology related equipment which will improve the efficiency of our deputies and their ability to detect and disrupt crime in our community,” said Sheriff Austin Garrett. “In 2022 we secured a 10-year technology agreement with AXON that included upgraded state-of-the-art in-car camera systems, body-worn cameras, and interview room technology, all of which includes cloud-based data storage, as well as updated taser equipment.”

This new contract also included the installation of automated license plate readers (ALPR) within the in-car camera system in all marked patrol vehicles. 

Automated License Plate Readers are a valuable tool for law enforcement and public safety because they can consistently scan license plates whether the patrol vehicle is stationary or moving and alerts deputies when a plate has an NCIC related offense or notification such as:

• The vehicle is related to a silver or amber alert
• The vehicle and/or plate has been reported stolen
• The owner the vehicle is registered to has open warrants
• The vehicle is tied to a missing person