The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office has revealed it is now using license plate recognition surveillance to aid with criminal investigations and the newly activated system has already helped solve one auto theft.

“We have been rolling out our automated license plate recognition (ALPR) system across the county for the last month,” the FC Sheriff’s Office said. “Our system is named S.A.I.N.T. – Surveillance Assisting Investigations Narcotics and Traffic. This cooperative effort is between our office, Winchester Police, Decherd Police, Cowen Police, Estill Springs Police, and Huntland Police.”

The Automated License Plate Recognition System uses advanced camera technology and software to capture images of vehicle license plates and instantaneously compares them to a large file of records to identify vehicles of interest. ALPR does not access the Tennessee registration data base and it cannot be used for generating citations or issuing tickets for any offenses. Law also requires that data may not be stored more than 90 days.

ALPR performs checks with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) to check for stolen vehicles, wanted persons, missing persons, and vehicles that are wanted by law enforcement.

“ALPR can aid in capturing wanted individuals that may be involved in crimes outside of Franklin County as well as those crimes that have occurred in Franklin County.”

The sheriff’s office noted the system is already working and paying dividends in clearing cases.

“April 2^nd was the first day S.A.I.N.T. was completely operational, and we identified a stolen vehicle,” the sheriff’s office revealed. “The SUV was recovered and returned to its owner. The S.A.I.N.T. system has helped solve three theft investigations before it was completely operational.”