Maximizing Efficiency: The Versatility of Fixed ALPR for Location-Based Investigations

July 24, 2024 ALPR, PULSAR by Utility™

Stores get robbed. Vehicles get stolen. And law enforcement responds – as swiftly and as effectively as possible. With the clock ticking, efficiency is everything and that means tapping into the latest technology to optimize your efforts.

Utility can lend a big hand to your location-based investigations with PULSAR by Utility™, our AI-powered automated license plate recognition (ALPR) and alerting solution. By strengthening the effectiveness of evidence collection and analysis, PULSAR by Utility becomes a true force multiplier.

PULSAR offers three different deployment types: fixed (mounted), mobile (on-vehicle) and portable (trailer-based for rapid temporary deployment). Fixed ALPR is a solar powered camera that can capture up to two lanes of passing vehicles from a fixed, mounted location such as a pole or traffic signal. Law enforcement officers can use PULSAR to capture the location and license plates of passing vehicles while conducting searches solely based on location and time frame after getting a clear look at which vehicles may have witnessed or been associated with a crime.

At Utility, we believe automated license plate recognition systems can provide a head start on most investigations. After all, more than 70% of all crimes involve a vehicle. PULSAR effectively captures passing vehicle details along with the date, time and GPS location. Let’s dig in and talk about how it works.

Feature Rich and Designed to get Results

The features in the PULSAR automated license plate recognition solution are designed to help law enforcement agencies maximize efficiency.

AI-driven automation: PULSAR uses advanced optical character recognition (OCR) and machine learning algorithms to process and analyze license plate data quickly and accurately. This automation reduces the need for manual data entry and analysis, allowing officers to focus on other tasks. In the end, automation leads to faster case resolutions and more efficient resource allocation.

Alerts: PULSAR can instantly identify and alert law enforcement officers when a vehicle of interest – for example, a stolen car or one associated with a wanted suspect – passes by an LPR camera. This real-time intelligence allows for immediate action, increasing the chances of apprehending suspects and recovering stolen property. Crucially, location-based alerts can automatically be sent to officers based on their proximity to the camera where the vehicle is spotted. Officers can then decide whether to act based on their location and the nature of the alert.

Hotlists and POLARIS Integration: Taking a longer-term view, law enforcement can enter specific vehicles of interest into POLARIS as a local hotlist. Whenever a vehicle matches the hotlist description, an alert will be sent to a predefined set of law enforcement officers. With PULSAR built directly into POLARIS, our evidence management system, users can seamlessly organize and retrieve captured license plate data. It also ensures that all data is stored in a cloud-based, secure and CJIS-compliant platform while remaining accessible to law enforcement agencies anywhere.

Digital Evidence Management Integration: When officers use POLARIS to access PULSAR vehicle data, they can cross-reference that data with other digital evidence such as body-worn camera footage, in-car video or crime scene photos. Having such a comprehensive view helps investigators identify patterns, link suspects to crimes and close cases more efficiently.

Rock-solid evidence: Vehicle details captured by a PULSAR system – e.g., vehicle snapshot, license plate, issuing state and associated metadata (vehicle type, make, model and color) – provide robust, reliable evidence collection for the prosecution. These records can be used in court to establish the presence of a vehicle at a crime scene, corroborate witness statements and support other evidence. The objective nature of PULSAR-generated data helps strengthen cases against suspects.

Versatility: The Icing on the Cake

Features aside, it is in the areas of flexibility and versatility where PULSAR really shines.

PULSAR Fixed, Utility’s solar-powered automated license plate recognition, can be deployed in various locations, including remote areas where traditional power sources may not be available. This flexibility matters to law enforcement agencies as it lets them monitor areas that were previously difficult or impossible to cover with traditional LPR systems. Also, PULSAR ALPR cameras can be mounted in a myriad of places – from poles to bridges to traffic lights and just about anywhere in-between.

Thanks to its solar panels, PULSAR Fixed can operate independently without the need for external power sources. This reduces the need for frequent maintenance and allows the systems to function continuously, even in areas with little or no infrastructure. It also communicates across the cellular network, reducing the need for physical infrastructure at installation sites.

Another aspect of PULSAR’s flexibility relates to an agency’s budgetary concerns. Because it is solar-powered and uses a cellular network for communication, PULSAR Fixed ALPR system is easy to scale up or down depending on an agency’s needs and budgets. This scalability allows for agencies to start with a small deployment and expand as needed without making any large infrastructure investments.

Feature rich. Versatile. Incredibly useful for driving efficiency. PULSAR By Utility is a valuable investigative tool for any agency. Contact us today to learn more about how PULSAR can improve efficiency in your agency’s operations.