How many car burglaries, car thefts, have there been in Jackson so far in 2024? What is the solution?

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

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

In a recent interview, Wade said he was convinced of the necessity of license plate readers after June. kidnapping Images of the 6-year-old Louisiana girl and her 4-year-old sister found dead in Jackson. JPD was able to apprehend the suspect after his vehicle was detected by a license plate reader in Byram, Wade said.

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

How many car burglaries/auto thefts have occurred in Jackson this year?

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

This means an average of three auto thefts per day have been reported so far in 2024. If the same rate is maintained, there will be nearly 820 car thefts by the end of October, which means a total of 82 car thefts per month.

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

More about JPD’s crime-fighting: ‘We need this on the book like yesterday’: Council approves 2 regulations. what did they do

Auto theft is when the perpetrator confronts the driver of a vehicle; whereas auto theft occurs when an unoccupied vehicle is stolen.

Wade, officially a sergeant in JPD’s Auto Theft Unit, said Jackson had a “serious” problem with auto thefts. On July 10, JPD recovered eight stolen vehicles in one day; One of them was kidnapped in the early hours of the morning.

Increased auto thefts are a nationwide trend, according to FBI data. There were 1,020,729 car thefts in 2023 reported appealed to law enforcement agencies across the country and the FBI National Crime Information Center. This is an increase from the 1,008,756 auto thefts reported in 2022.

According to a report published in May National Insurance Crime BureauThe top three cars stolen in 2023 were the Hyundai Elantra, with 48,445 thefts; Hyundai Sonata, 42,813 thefts; and Kia Optima: 30,204 thefts. Wade said most of the thefts in Jackson also involve Hyundias and Kias.

‘Hole in the middle’ of Jackson metro area is being closed

In early October, Wade said he visited the Mississippi Analysis and Information Center, also known as the Fusion Center. The center is used by law enforcement agencies statewide as a “central location to collect, analyze and share information from local, state, tribal and federal sources” to prevent crime. Mississippi Office of Homeland Security.

Wade said he had the opportunity to look at other municipalities’ centrally connected license plate readers, but he couldn’t help but notice “this hole in the middle.”

“The hole in the middle is Jackson, Mississippi,” Wade said. “There will be no more gaps, we are moving into the 21st century.”

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

“They all told me the same thing: ‘Chief, I know who’s coming to my city, and I know when they’re leaving my city,'” Wade said. “This is going to be a big deal, not just for car thefts, but for missing persons as well.”

Now that Jackson has license plate readers, Wade said they can coordinate with surrounding areas to better catch criminals traveling from one city to another.

Jackson’s Blue Light Safety Initiative: A national law firm called Jackson’s surveillance ordinance unconstitutional. See what they said

In September, the Jackson City Council unanimously approved the purchase of 16 license plate readers worth $3,500 each to be placed in crime hot spots in the city. The locations of the license plate readers will not be made public, but will be available to local law enforcement, Wade said.

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

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

How do license plate readers work?

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

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

“Say your tag number is ABC-123 and the vehicle was stolen with that tag,” Wade said. “When that vehicle passes an LPR (license plate reader), it will take a photo of it and triangulate its direction of travel. Now we have a chance to capture that vehicle and send information to our local partners, or we can notify the Marshals, ‘Hey, there’s a stolen vehicle heading southbound . Arrival time should be at this intersection shortly. We need to make sure you are in the area to pick up this vehicle.'”

The license plate readers were purchased on a two-year contract through a company called Flock Safety. Deputy Chief Wendell Watts explained that Flock has a nationwide database. JPD will not only be able to identify stolen vehicles in Jackson, but will also be able to locate vehicles that may have been stolen from other states.

For license plate readers installed in patrol cars, Wade said they would have the ability to drive past a car and tell if it was stolen; This makes it useful for patrolling parking lots where large numbers of stolen vehicles are left behind by criminals. said Wade.

Speaking to the council at the September meeting, Watts said they used license plate reader technology in Gluckstadt, where he was previously the police chief.

“We followed a man from Florida to Gluckstadt, committed the crime, then returned to Florida and were able to take him into custody,” Watts said.

This article first appeared in the Mississippi Clarion Ledger: JPD will combat auto thefts and car thefts. How many took place this year?