Stolen cars are being used as “vessels” to commit other crimes in the city of Jackson, according to Police Chief Joseph Wade, who spoke with the Clarion Ledger about a potential solution he hopes will reduce the problem.

In August, the Jackson Police Department presented its fiscal year 2024-2025 budget proposals to the Jackson City Council. Among JPD’s requests was the purchase of license plate readers to be installed throughout the city.

In a recent interview, Wade said he is convinced of the need for license plate readers after June RAPTURE of a 6-year-old Louisiana girl and her 4-year-old sister who were found dead in Jackson. Wade said JPD was able to catch the suspect after his vehicle was spotted by a Byram license plate reader.

“We (Jackson) have to have that technology, too,” Wade said. “We are way behind in license plate reader technology. We should have had this technology probably 10, 15, 20 years ago.”

How many car thefts have occurred in Jackson this year?

Since Oct. 7, the Jackson Police Department has responded to 755 car thefts in Jackson, according to police documents the Clarion Ledger obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

That means, on average, nearly three car thefts per day have been reported so far in 2024. Keeping the same rate, there will be nearly 820 car thefts by the end of October, which adds up to 82 car thefts per month.

JPD also reports that there have been 40 car thefts in Jackson so far this year.

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A carjacking is where a perpetrator confronts the driver of a vehicle, while a carjacking occurs when an unoccupied vehicle is stolen.

Wade, who was officially a sergeant in the JPD’s Auto Theft Unit, said Jackson has a “serious” problem with car thefts. On July 10, JPD recovered eight stolen vehicles in one day, with one stolen earlier in the morning.

The rise in car thefts is a nationwide trend, according to data from the FBI. In 2023, 1,020,729 car thefts were reported in law enforcement nationwide and joined the FBI National Crime Information Center. This is an increase from the 1,008,756 car thefts reported in 2022.

According to a report released in May from National Bureau of Criminal Investigationthe top three stolen cars in 2023 were the Hyundai Elantra, 48,445 thefts; Hyundai Sonata, 42,813 thefts; and Kia Optima: 30,204 thefts. Wade said most of the thefts in Jackson were also Hyundias and Kias.

Plugging the “hole in the middle” of the Jackson metro area

In early October, Wade said he visited the Mississippi Information and Analysis Center, also known as the Fusion Center. The center is used by law enforcement agencies across the state as “a centralized location for collecting, analyzing and sharing information from local, state, tribal and federal resources” to prevent crime, according to Mississippi Bureau of Homeland Security.

Wade said he’s had a chance to look at other municipalities’ license plate readers that are connected to the center, but he couldn’t help but notice “this hole in the middle.”

“That hole in the middle is Jackson, Mississippi,” Wade said. “Now there will be no more holes, we are moving into the 21st century.”

Other municipalities such as Ridgeland, Madison, Pearl, Clinton and Byram already have license plate readers in their crime-fighting arsenal, Wade said. He visited with the chiefs of police in each.

“They all told me the same thing, ‘Boss, I know who came into my town and I know when they leave my town,'” Wade said. “It’s going to be so important, not only for car thefts, but also for missing persons.”

Now that Jackson has license plate readers, Wade said they will be able to coordinate with surrounding areas to better catch criminals who might be driven from one city to another.

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In September, the Jackson City Council unanimously approved the purchase of 16 license plate readers, at $3,500 each, to be placed at critical points throughout the city. The locations of the license plate readers will not be disclosed to the public, Wade said, but will be made available to local law enforcement agencies.

Wade said he hopes to have the 16 license plate readers installed by the end of October, but said, “They will definitely be installed by the end of the year.”

Two additional license plate readers were also approved by the board in mid-October to be attached to patrol cars.

How do license plate readers work?

Wade explained that license plate readers have a small camera attached that takes pictures of cars and car tags. Once captured, the tag number is run through a database that can show if a vehicle has been stolen or been involved in another crime.

Readers will also be able to track the movements of the stolen vehicle, making it easier for officers to intercept.

“Let’s say your tag number is ABC-123 and the vehicle was stolen with that tag,” Wade said. “Whenever that vehicle passes an LPR (license plate reader), it will take a picture of it and triangulate the direction of travel. Now we have a chance to catch that vehicle, send information to our local partners or to us. can notify officers, “Hey, there’s a stolen vehicle headed this way. The arrival time should be at this intersection.

The license plate readers were purchased through a company called Flock Safety for a two-year contract. Assistant Chief Wendell Watts explained that Flock has a nationwide database. Not only will JPD be able to identify stolen vehicles in Jackson, but they will also be able to find vehicles that may be stolen from other states.

For license plate readers installed in patrol cars, Wade said they would have the ability to overtake a car and tell if it has been stolen, which is useful for patrolling parking lots where a lot of stolen vehicles end up being left in trail of criminals. Wade said.

Watts, speaking to the council during a September meeting, said they used license plate reader technology in Gluckstadt, where he was a former police chief.

“We tracked a guy who came from Florida to Gluckstadt, committed the murder, then came back to Florida and we were able to get them into custody,” Watts said.

This article originally appeared on the Mississippi Clarion Ledger: JPD to address car thefts, car thefts. How many have taken place this year?