Q&A with Lt Moss at Columbia County about AutoVu Cloudrunner

Columbia County is uniquely positioned in the state of Georgia. It’s located north of Augusta city, bordering the state of South Carolina. Interstate 20 runs right through the county as well, making it a highly trafficked area for people traveling in and out of these states or driving across the Southern United States. According to Lieutenant Moss at the Columbia County Sherriff’s Office, this can bring unwanted criminal elements into and through the county.

In this Q&A with Lt Moss, find out how automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) technology has significantly enhanced Columbia County Sheriff’s Office’s real-time crime center (RTCC) operations. You’ll also learn why they chose AutoVu Cloudrunner™ vehicle-centric investigation system, and how it’s become the predominant lead-generating tool during emergencies and investigations.

EBOOK

 

Q: How does Cloudrunner contribute to your RTCC operations?

A: We have a very robust Genetec Security Center system at our real-time crime center (RTCC). We manage over 1000 video cameras using Omnicast™ video management system and 100 automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras using AutoVu Cloudrunner. The ALPR system is tied to a few local and national databases.

Since our 911 and RTCC operators work in the same room, our goal is to have everything together under one platform. This allows our response teams to work more effectively and stay on the same page when an emergency comes up.

For example, if a stolen vehicle passes one of the Cloudrunner ALPR cameras, the system will automatically alert our team and pull up live video from the two closest cameras that we have in that area. One of the cameras will turn in the direction that the car is traveling, and the other camera which is further down the road will point back towards the incoming vehicle.

Sometimes, if we don’t have a license plate to work with, we’ll pull up the video, identify the vehicle color, make, and location, and then find it using those search parameters in the AutoVu Cloudrunner system.

We focus on using Cloudrunner predominantly, but these video and ALPR technologies work hand in hand. They help us work much faster and find the information we need. We can literally find vehicles or suspects within seconds and then pass that information on to the responding deputies.

 

 

Q: Why did you decide to add ALPR to your RTCC operations?

A: After building our RTCC, we decided to add AutoVu Cloudrunner. Since we’re along Interstate 20 between Atlanta and Agusta, we started seeing organized crime groups and criminal activity coming through Columbia County. We wanted to be more proactive in responding to incidents and tracking suspect vehicles.

We took a phased approach to deploying the 100 ALPR cameras, using special-purpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST) funding to expand our RTCC public safety technologies. Finding the right camera locations was a team effort. All leadership in the 911, patrol, investigations, and command departments sat down to discuss which locations would benefit us from an operational standpoint. We started with the county boundaries and kept expanding from there.

Q: What were your top reasons for choosing AutoVu Cloudrunner?

A: Customer service and support were really important to our Sherriff’s Office. And since we had been using Omnicast for well over a decade, we knew that we could expect the same excellent customer service with AutoVu Cloudrunner. Genetec also collects a lot of feedback from customers to create and improve their solutions and that collaboration has been huge.

If we look at capabilities specifically, what set the AutoVu Cloudrunner apart from other solutions were the nighttime reads and image quality. In many instances, the criminal element will take the tags off, steal license plates from a similar vehicle, and put them on their car. With other solutions, you just get a totally dark image and all you can see is the license plate. But that doesn’t help if the tags are stolen.

AutoVu Cloudrunner is different because, even at night, we can clearly see the vehicle make, model, and any other distinguishing vehicle features along with the license plate read. These unique features like a spare tire, sticker, or damage to a certain area on the vehicle can help us quickly find relevant video of the vehicle as well. 

 

 

Q: What are the benefits of having AutoVu Cloudrunner?

A: Before AutoVu Cloudrunner, we were going back and watching hours upon hours of video during some investigations. With the ALPR cameras, everything has been simplified. As soon as a crime is reported, we can find suspect vehicles and associated video. There’s no more going back and searching through endless footage to try and figure out what happened. If we have a vehicle description, location, or full or partial plate number, we can find information fast.

And that’s both during an active incident or an after-the-fact investigation. For instance, at our RTCC, our first source of information is the 911 caller. Even if they’re just able to tell us a few vehicle details, we can immediately search the system and find the car.

On the other hand, sometimes people commit crimes and get away in the moment. We can then search past license plate reads or add the plate number to a local database and find them afterward.

BROCHURE

 

Q: Can you share a real case where Cloudrunner was helpful?

A: In a recent case, there was an individual who decided to come to our county from out of the state. They broke into their former partner's residence and damaged it severely. We were able to identify their vehicle, including the tag number using the license plate readers and added those details to a local database.

We've installed our license plate readers in a way that acts like an invisible barrier around our county. So as soon as they entered our county again, we knew about it. We pulled up video of the suspect, tracked their vehicle through our county, and caught them at the victim’s residence in the vehicle.

In almost every case, we’re using the ALPR system. There have been numerous stolen vehicles, missing or endangered persons, DUI or hit-and-run suspects, suicidal subjects, and other reported crimes. If we have any sort of lead through the course of a live 911 call or an investigation, we’re going to use AutoVu Cloudrunner.

 

Q: Has AutoVu Cloudrunner been easy for your team to use?

A: We have 30 operators that use AutoVu Cloudrunner every week in our RTCC, and all of them have become very skilled with the ALPR technology. I spent an hour doing the training and learned a little bit myself. Then I had some of our team members go through the system and they trained themselves. Now, they’re experts and use it every day. Once you have a brief overview and training on it, you're good to go. It’s that easy.

Q: What is it like working with Genetec? What's next for your team?

A: The support we’ve received has always been excellent. If we ever run into issues, the Genetec team is quick to respond and get things working right. Many people think that once they acquire the technology, they won’t have to worry about it. But things happen and sometimes, there’s some maintenance needed. Genetec is always there, whether everything is going great or not. And that’s what we really appreciate.

The Genetec team recently helped us set up a tactical deployment using AutoVu Cloudrunner. We have one camera that we use for special investigations such as a narcotics or organized retail crime (ORC) ring investigation. So we can pick up the ALPR camera and move it wherever we need it, which has been a huge benefit.

Moving forward, we’re going to install another 16 AutoVu Cloudrunner cameras on the Interstate. We're still working with the Department of Transportation to get things set up, but we’ll be the first county in the state of Georgia to deploy Cloudrunner cameras on the Interstate.