About
Located just outside of Nashville, Mt. Juliet has seen exponential population and business growth over the last decade, with over 32,000 residents who now call Mt. Juliet home. Mt. Juliet Police Department (MJPD) has 76 full-time employees and nearly 50 volunteers who are committed to keeping their residents and visitors safe by providing the best possible service and being community strong.
Challenge
Both the city of Mt. Juliet, TN and MJPD were looking to roll out the community’s Automated License Plate Recognition (“ALPR”) program which the department termed “Guardian Shield.” The Guardian Shield program was initiated to enhance the community’s safety by providing an additional tool to further protect and shield residents and visitors from criminals who enter the city to cause harm. MJPD wanted a ALPR partner who shared the same mission, was affordable and reliable and who could grow and scale as the Guardian Shield program evolved.
Solution
Thirty-seven locations for fixed Rekor Edge systems were identified to provide the best possible coverage to protect the entire Mt. Juliet community. $89,000 was also budgeted per year for Rekor to support the systems.
Decision
Before selecting Rekor, MJPD and IT professionals conducted rigorous testing and an extensive review of Rekor and other leading license plate recognition systems. After testing was completed, the Rekor solutions clearly outperformed competitors. An alert generated from Rekor led to the successful apprehension of an armed and dangerous fugitive from a nearby county.
“Our number one priority is maintaining the safety of our community, and we are always looking for robust tools and technologies that can help us to do so. Rekor’s Edge and Rekor Scout™ vehicle recognition technology provided better results than its competition during our trial period.” - Chief James Hambrick, MJPD
MJPD saw immediate results from implementing Scout into their Guardian Shield program, including intercepting several stolen vehicles, apprehension of both an alleged sexual assault suspect and murder suspect, and interdiction of illegal drugs.
Conclusion
MJPD has set a high standard for thoughtful ALPR program deployment, complete with frequent and transparent communications with their constituents. Rekor is proud to offer both the Rekor Edge and Scout software in partnership with MJPD and shares in its mission to keep officers and community members safe.
