License plate readers (LPRs) were installed within the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina, jurisdiction prior to the 2012 Democratic National Convention in the city. While the convention has since passed, these LPRs remain; there are now 95 LPRs in 44 fixed positions within the jurisdiction, along with 14 mobile units mounted to police vehicles. This study explores the impact of LPRs on criminal investigations as a possible way to leverage this equipment. Researchers compared the time it took to close auto theft and robbery cases in the pre-LPR period (January 2011 through June 2012) to that of the post-LPR period (July 2013 through September 2014). This analysis included 5,396 cases of auto theft and 4,410 robbery cases. Overall, researchers found no significant change in case closures. However, there were improvements in auto theft case closure specifically in districts with high concentrations of LPRs, and in robbery case closure specifically for cases that remained open for more than a day.
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