Violent Gang Member Suspected of Killing 14-Year-Old Boy Apprehended Using Vigilant Solutions' License Plate Reader Data

LIVERMORE, Calif., July 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Vigilant Solutions announces today that the use of its License Plate Recognition (LPR) data and LEARN® online investigative solution has resulted in the successful resolution of a gang investigation.  The details of the case are being obscured at the request of the agency.

The agency belongs to one of the largest multi-jurisdictional LPR initiatives in North America.  The initiative comprises multiple agencies serving a population of over 3 million.  One of the investigators on the case states, "Our agencies selected Vigilant for many reasons – the performance and accuracy we observed during our evaluation, the flexible architecture, the ability to integrate our existing LPR hardware from another vendor, cloud-based data sharing, good analytic tools, and other reasons.  One really unique element of the Vigilant system that has proven valuable is the private data network, which recently helped us put some dangerous gang members behind bars."

"A member of one gang stabbed a member of a rival gang sparking a series of incidents," reports the investigator.  "In retaliation for the stabbing, the rival gang conducted a 'drive-by shooting' at a known location of the other gang, hitting and killing a 14-year-old boy."  The investigator immediately turned to Vigilant for leads on the suspect's whereabouts.

Searching the almost 2 million LPR reads collected monthly by the nearby agencies, and supplemented by over 4 million additional reads collected by the Vigilant private data network, detectives were able to identify several sightings of the suspect's vehicle in the area.  The investigator continues, "Many of these were at a nearby strip mall.  Without additional information, this would have been extremely useful to our team as it is likely a workplace of the suspect, but as it turned out that we didn't need this information.  We had a sighting of the suspect license plate parked at a residential location within minutes of the incident.  I almost fell out of my chair."

"We deployed an apprehension team immediately where the suspect and a friend were seen leaving the residence and getting into their vehicle.  The apprehension team followed the suspect to a nearby location and took them safely into custody without incident.  This single LPR detection provided by Vigilant greatly expedited our investigation, potentially saved hundreds of man-hours, and allowed us to get this dangerous suspect off the streets quickly before the situation escalated further and another incident occurred."

About Vigilant Solutions:
Based in Livermore, California, Vigilant Solutions is an industry-leading pioneer of innovative intelligence solutions that help law enforcement protect officers, families and communities.  For additional information, visit www.vigilantsolutions.com.

Editorial contact:
Brian Shockley, +1 (925) 398-2079 ext 731, [email protected]

SOURCE Vigilant Solutions