ZIONSVILLE, Ind — In the fight against crime, the Town of Zionsville has a new weapon.
Ten new cameras are constantly snapping pictures and scanning license plates looking for stolen cars and wanted criminals.
John Hanks lives a few blocks from one of the cameras. He didn't know about them until speaking with 13News.
"I am not all that crazy about Big Brother," Hanks said. "But I think it's good the security is there."
The wireless, solar-powered cameras are the brainchild of Garrett Langley, the founder and CEO of Flock Safety. He said the company's cameras are gathering evidence for police to use in 1,000 cities. They almost instantly compare the license numbers of passing cars to a national database of stolen vehicles.
"As soon as one of those cars drives by a camera, within just seconds, the nearest officer is notified," he said.
The cameras can also help police track down suspects in other crimes. For instance, if a witness to a violent crime saw the suspect drive away in a white Ford SUV, police could program the system to look for vehicles matching that description in the area at the time of the crime.
That information and some detective work could put police a step closer to identifying the suspect.
Langley said Dayton, Ohio is another city in the system.
"They put the cameras up. Six months later, they noticed crime was down, all in, about 47 percent." he explained.
According to Langley, IMPD and many local neighborhoods also already uses the cameras. Some in Indianapolis and Zionsville have purchased their own.
For $2,500 a year, a neighborhood could get a crime watch camera that never sleeps.
The Zionsville Police Department and city officials could not be reached or were not available to be interviewed for this report.