AI traffic cameras helping Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office solve crimes

Artificial intelligence has been helping the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office solve crimes. Deputies call these new AI traffic cameras a game changer because they can track down cars quicker than license plate readers.

WINK News Reporter Annalise Iraola explored how it speeds up the road to justice.

When criminals strike, every second counts, and this new technology helps law enforcement solve crimes faster and more efficiently.

Captain John Heck, with the Intel Division at the Charlotte County Sherriff’s Office, explained, “With the AI that we have into our cameras, and with our LP, we’re able to go through a lot more video footage that is recorded to determine if we’re looking for a very specific vehicle or a person with a backpack or a person with a blue shirt.”

Heck continued, “Back when I was an investigator many, many years ago, we would have to sit there, and just if we got lucky enough to have a camera somewhere. We’d have to sit through and watch just hours of video to try to find that one person or that one vehicle that we believe was involved with the crime. Now, we can do that in a matter of minutes.”

What would once have taken law enforcement hours to find this new AI technology can be pulled within seconds.

Angenetta Betts, Intelligence and RTIC Specialist at CCSO, told WINK more about how the system works.

“Basically, it’s a system that allows us to search for specific vehicles if it’s related to a crime, so for example, if we’re looking for, let’s say, a hit-and-run vehicle, I can go over here and search for vehicles and narrow it down by color,” Betts said.

These AI-powered cameras let investigators select the type, color, dates and even the location. CCSO already has several cameras with this technology throughout the county and it plans on getting more.

Betts said it comes down to saving time, no matter the call.

“Instead of looking through 1000s of vehicles that might have passed in this area, we can narrow it down to maybe 20 that match our description,” Betts said.

This technology was used to search for suspect Andrew Mostyn Jr. last month after he shot and killed Sgt. Elio Diaz outside the Chevron gas station on Tamiami Trail during a traffic stop.

“It gave us the area that he was traveling last, so we were able to refine our searches a little bit more, instead of just we don’t know where the vehicle is at this point,” Heck said, “so it led us to kings highway corridor, and then our officers were lucky enough to find him. At the Popeyes there, and you know what happened.”

While some may worry about the surveillance aspect of these cameras, Heck said they are not watching everyone traveling around.

“We’re looking for the criminal acts, and we want to keep Charlotte County as safe as it’s always been,” Heck said.