Police in Fairfield are crediting automated license plate reader technology for helping to track down a stolen vehicle and arrest its suspected thief.

Shortly before noon on Sunday, officers responded to a Flock Safety camera system activation in the area of Allan Witt Park about a vehicle that was reported stolen. Police found the vehicle on Diamond Court occupied by a 46-year-old suspect, who was taken into custody and booked into jail on suspicion of the auto theft.

According to a transparency portal Flock Safety maintains for the Fairfield Police Department, police utilizes 59 license plate readers and other types of cameras around the city.

The department only uses the cameras to track license plates and vehicles, but not for other purposes such as immigration or traffic enforcement, according to the portal. The system has detected nearly 650,000 vehicles in the past month, resulting in roughly 12,000 “hotlist hits” that are human verified before additional action is taken. The hits generated 992 searches during the 30-day reporting period.

Dan McMenamin is the managing editor at Bay City News, directing daily news coverage of the 12-county greater Bay Area. He has worked for BCN since 2008 and has been managing editor since 2014 after previously serving as BCN’s San Francisco bureau reporter. A UC Davis graduate, he came to BCN after working for a newspaper and nonprofit in the Davis area. He handles staffing, including coaching of our interns, day-to-day coverage decisions and management of the newswire.