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Caught on camera. We're used to seeing dash-cam images capturing police officers on the job.
But officers in one Virginia town are taking the cameras on their cruisers a step further.
IT'S LIKE AN EXTRA SET OF EYES... THAT JUST SO HAPPEN TO RECOGNIZE EVERY SINGLE CAR REPORTED STOLEN IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. DETECTIVE JAMES PRICE IS ONE OF THE ROANOKE CITY POLICE OFFICERS TRAINED TO USE THE CAMERA TECHNOLOGY.
"It will show a picture of the actual car that's gone by us, and then over here in the right hand corner it will show a picture of the actual tag that it ran."
WHEN THESE THREE CAMERAS SEE THE TAG... THE COMPUTER AUTOMATICALLY RUNS THE NUMBERS... AND THEN SOUNDS OFF IF IT THINKS IT FOUND A STOLEN CAR.
"I believe within the first week it found two stolen vehicles and one stolen tag." "These cameras use infrared technology, which means police can track criminals day or night."
"Instead of someone driving around trying to find a specific vehicle, you just drive around in this vehicle and it will find it for you."
ANOTHER COOL FEATURE... POLICE CAN ACTUALLY GO BACK AND FIND ANY TAG THAT'S BEEN PHOTOGRAPHED... FOR UP TO 30 DAYS. "With the GPS, it will tell me where we saw that vehicle."
AN EXTRA SET OF EYES... WITH AN ESPECIALLY GOOD MEMORY. "You can't see everything, so if you drive by a car, and you don't see the car, it will."
HELPING POLICE FIGHT CRIME... ONE FRAME AT A TIME.
Roanoke City is the first department in southwest Virginia to get the cameras.
Police departments in Richmond and Virginia Beach also use this technology.
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