New License Plate Scanners Help Bow Mar Combat Crime

BOW MAR, Colo. (CBS4)- Over the last few years, the Town of Bow Mar has been looking to beef up its security. Bow Mar is located in Arapahoe and Jefferson counties west of Denver.

"So we have two challenges in Bow Mar, one is traffic, and the other one is security," said Bow Mar Mayor Tom Faldkamp.

To help, the town has done two things. First, anyone who wanted one was able to get a Ring Video Doorbell at a discounted rate. The device records anyone who comes to the door. They also installed Flock Security cameras at each entrance to the town. Those cameras record the license plate numbers of every car that comes in and out of the town.

"Someone reported that someone had stolen a package off of their porch. Another person in town said it was a blue pickup truck. So we looked on our Flock camera, and fortunately they drove past the demo camera, and we were able to see its license plate," said Feldkamp.

The video from the Ring Video Doorbell cameras and Flock Security license plate readers was given to police and they were able to track down the thief. Another person had $1,000 worth of tools stolen out of their truck.

"So we immediately looked on Flock camera, found out it was a silver station wagon, and it was a stolen car. When we put that out we found it over in another police district and we were able to recover all the tools," Feldkamp told CBS4.

The twofold system is already showing results. Feldkamp says in December, 2018 the town had 34 thefts. In December 2019 they had zero. Each camera costs the town $2,000 per camera, per year. Any resident who wants to opt out of having their car recorded can do so.