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Vehicles are involved in more than 75% of crimes committed in the United States, making the ability to track and investigate vehicles in real time essential to modern law enforcement operations. Automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) systems like PlateRanger—SoundThinking’s data-driven ALPR solution—offer departments a highly scalable, affordable way to collect critical vehicle data.
When PlateRanger ALPR is integrated with tools like CrimeTracer’s analytics and investigative search intelligence, a robust investigative ecosystem connects vehicle movements and criminal intelligence to quickly find investigative leads. PlateRanger’s solution offers a scalable, affordable, and easy-to-deploy solution that integrates with other solutions to unlock a powerful, unified ecosystem to help solve investigations faster and foster smarter policing.
PlateRanger and CrimeTracer integration search results on a license plate showing read locations.
Deepening Investigations with CrimeTracer
CrimeTracer, SoundThinking’s law enforcement search engine, lets agencies search over a billion records—everything from RMS reports to field interviews, mugshots, and BOLOs. And when integrated with PlateRanger, CrimeTracer turns every license plate read into a potential investigative breakthrough.
A license plate read can instantly be cross-referenced in CrimeTracer to identify connections to people, places, and cases, such as known offenders, registered vehicle owners, and associated incidents from historical reports, arrest reports, prior investigations, or those listed in public data through Thomas Reuters CLEAR. This deeper analysis enables investigators to build stronger cases faster, prioritize high-value targets, and allocate resources where they’re needed most.
The result is a more connected investigative process that eliminates the siloes that traditionally slow investigations—even across multiple jurisdictions. Investigators, officers, and analysts can conduct link analysis to draw associations between vehicles, incidents, suspects, and locations—critical for understanding gang networks, serial offenders, and organized criminal activity.
Boost Investigative Efficiency – Use Case Example
When a shots fired incident is reported—either through a 911 call to the communications center or automatically detected by ShotSpotter—officers are dispatched to the scene. Upon arrival, they may discover an aggravated assault victim. After securing the scene and providing necessary aid, officers or investigators can utilize the PlateRanger Rekor Blue app to scan and identify license plates nearby.
Investigators can then query the PlateRanger cameras within the area to look for vehicles matching witness descriptions or leaving the area within the time around the crime. Using the vehicle data gathered, they can access the CrimeTracer database to search for potential matches, previous alerts, or criminal history. CrimeTracer provides deeper insights, helping investigators uncover relationships, strengthen case connections, and generate new investigative leads.
Advanced Link Analysis
The power of integration is critically evident in the ability to conduct link analysis. By combining data from PlateRanger and CrimeTracer, agencies can quickly build associations between individuals, vehicles, locations, and incidents. Investigators no longer have to spend hours manually stitching together data from disparate systems. Instead, CrimeTracer does the heavy lifting through the integration.
This capability is particularly valuable for building cases involving organized crime, gang activity, criminal networks, or repeat offenders. Suppose a vehicle captured by PlateRanger is tied to multiple records in CrimeTracer. In that case, law enforcement can develop a link chart to visualize connections, strengthen probable cause, and help discover new leads.
Vehicles can also be analyzed in PlateRanger to quickly recognize other organization vehicles that frequently travel with the suspect vehicle, unlocking additional link charts to augment an investigation.
Increase Operational Efficiency
Digging through RMS records, calling other agencies to check their records, or waiting for dispatch to relay BOLO information slows investigations and increases staff workload. Integrating that ALPR data with CrimeTracer makes the workflow even more efficient. Field officers, detectives, and crime analysts can all access the same cross-jurisdictional data network, reducing redundant tasks and freeing up time for proactive policing. Real-world deployments have shown that ALPR-equipped officers can identify and recover suspect vehicles, locate stolen cars, and aid in arrests without diverting additional personnel.
Manual workflows, such as combing through video of the scene looking for vehicles that could potentially be involved or searching multiple databases individually, consume valuable time. Integrating PlateRanger and CrimeTracer lightens that load, increases agency collaboration, and reduces redundant tasks. Officers in the field have the relevant data within easy reach. Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) analysts can respond instantly with informed intelligence. Investigators can find leads and suspects more quickly. The result is a faster, more agile response that increases situational awareness and can help solve crimes more efficiently.
Scalable for Any Department
PlateRanger is cloud-based and requires
no dedicated ALPR server hardware. Depending on an agency’s existing ALPR cameras and their resolution, they can easily be added to the PlateRanger so lution. This makes it especially valuable for small and mid-sized departments that need modern investigative tools without significant capital investments. Agencies can deploy the PlateRanger smartphone app, Rekor Blue, across agency smartphones or tablets, allowing those cameras to be used in the field as license plate readers.
This flexibility allows departments to expand their ALPR capabilities at their own pace—whether equipping a few officers for targeted enforcement or deploying the solution agency-wide. Because PlateRanger operates with fixed cameras and on smartphone devices and can integrate seamlessly with CrimeTracer, agencies avoid the high costs and long timelines associated with fixed infrastructure projects. The cloud-based platform also ensures that data is securely stored and easily accessible, giving officers and analysts the necessary tools without adding an IT burden. This makes the solution scalable and sustainable for long-term investigative success.
Accelerate Investigations
Integrating PlateRanger with CrimeTracer represents a major advancement in real-time policing by connecting critical vehicle data with a powerful investigative search engine. The interconnected data sharing gives officers, analysts, and investigators immediate access to a shared stream of information—eliminating delays, reducing manual workloads, and improving operational efficiency. From traffic stops to violent crime investigations, having access to linked, real-time data equips agencies to act faster and with greater confidence.
As agencies seek to modernize their operations, PlateRanger’s ALPR capabilities and CrimeTracer’s expansive search platform provide a scalable, affordable solution that delivers measurable results. Whether identifying a suspect vehicle near a crime scene or uncovering hidden connections between people, places, and cases, this integrated approach enhances decision-making and case outcomes. For departments looking to streamline workflows, strengthen investigations, and increase community safety, the integration of PlateRanger and CrimeTracer is a proven model for smarter, more effective policing.
