Georgia PD & Bureau of Investigations Utilize LPR Technology In Pre-Super Bowl Sex Sting

Nearly two-dozen suspected child sex predators were arrested earlier this year in Georgia as a result of a proactive undercover investigation prior to Super Bowl LIII. Dubbed  “Operation Interception”, the investigation was coordinated by the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit, Brookhaven Police Department, DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, and United States Marshals Service Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force.

The goal of the sting was to arrest those who communicate with children on-line, have sexually explicit conversations, and then travel to meet them for the purpose of having sex, according to a press release. Ultimately 21 people were arrested over a five-day period beginning Jan. 30, said Georgia Bureau of Investigations Special Agent in Charge and Commander of the Georgia ICAC Task Force Debbie Garner.

What makes this investigation different from others for those law enforcement agencies involved was the beneficial use of license plate reader (LPR) technology. During Operation Interception, LPR technology was used to more quickly locate previously identified predators as they entered the city limits.

The perks of partnership

Through a partnership with Georgia Power and Vigilant Solutions, Brookhaven PD has nearly 50 LPR cameras located throughout the city of Brookhaven, Ga. “The technology was a perk of the partnership,” said Garner. The team was in the planning phase when Sergeant David Snively from Brookhaven PD mentioned that his agency had LPR technology – something Garner had not used before. “We were excited after he explained what the capabilities are,” she noted. “As a state agency our troopers have LPRs on their cars but we don’t have stationary cameras across the state. Sergeant Snively explained how we could use them and it worked out very, very well.”

Using this technology, Brookhaven’s officers were alerted the moment an already identified target entered the city, assisting with their ultimate apprehension. “Through our analyst we were able to identify these suspects before they ever began traveling through information that they revealed to us,” explained Snively. “By researching what vehicles they were in or likely to be in, we went ahead and put those tags in the system so as soon as their vehicle passed one of our stationary cameras, we received an alert.”

That cameras told investigators where in the city the suspect was, allowing the team to coordinate their apprehension more quickly and more efficiently. The other benefit was that the investigators knew whether or not they were actually in the vicinity. “A lot of times these guys would say there were 25 minutes away because they wanted to do counter-surveillance, but we knew they just passed a LPR and they were less than five minutes away,” says Snively. “In one case, we had a guy who said he was coming, but he was going back and forth. We were shutting down for the night and the LPR goes off and we knew he passed our camera. We stayed that extra 10 minutes to get someone into custody and we only knew it based on the LPR. The LPR told us he was there.”

The real-time alerts provided by Vigilant Solutions were crucial to the success of the operation and made the investigation easier, Garner noted. “It provided us confirmation that these predators were coming. LPR technology gave us extra tidbits that we didn’t have in previous operations. We had no idea what a benefit this was until now.”

Although this was the first time Garner has used LPR technology in this type of investigation, it’s something they will ask partnering agencies about in future stings. “With this technology we were able to tell our arrest and surveillance teams that [the suspects] were three or four minutes out,” she said. “That’s a huge benefit as far as surveillance goes and it really adds to our success in apprehending them, as well as increases officer safety.”