Kingsburg police report quarterly activity and new license‑plate cameras; officers cite case solved with system

Police Chief provided the quarterly report noting routine activity levels, training and staffing updates and mentioned recent pedestrian‑vehicle fatalities the department is reviewing.

Chief said patrol officers handled roughly 2,873 calls for service and made 73 arrests over the quarter. He also reported ongoing training including leadership courses, forensic and use‑of‑force instruction and said the department recently hired a new officer who graduated from the Tulare‑Kings police academy and is now in field training.

Lieutenant Salinas briefed the council on the department's installation of 10 Flock Safety license‑plate reader (LPR) cameras placed at the city's main entry and exit points. "These cameras are positioned in a way where they capture plates and vehicles only," Salinas said, describing technical and legal limits on live‑feed access and privacy protections. The system stores plate reads on the vendor's servers and can be geofenced: staff said officers can enter a plate and receive a notification if that vehicle reenters the geofenced area.

Salinas described a recent investigation in which officers used the system to identify a vehicle that had passed through a city intersection shortly after a reported theft of roughly $3,500 in car parts. "The car came back into town," he said, and officers located the vehicle the following day; he said the investigation produced two arrests and recovery of stolen property and unreported stolen mail belonging to Kingsburg residents.

Council members asked whether the system interfaces with Amber Alerts and other license‑plate reader networks; Salinas confirmed the LPR data integrates with national and regional plate‑read systems and will flag wanted vehicles entered in clearinghouses, requiring follow‑up checks by officers. The department said it will review recent pedestrian fatalities and present any recommendations to the traffic safety committee.