Lathrop Police Department: Transforming criminal investigations in Peregrine

“I use Peregrine every day in my investigations to view patterns, obtain information, and close cases.”

Det. Ashlyn Howard

Lathrop PD, California

Enhancing efficiency in criminal investigations

Cameras serve as an indispensable investigative tool for law enforcement. Video footage from sources like CCTV, home cameras, and traffic cameras plays a pivotal role in identifying suspects and their vehicles, often serving as critical evidence in criminal prosecutions.

However, video footage typically exists in siloed systems, whether it's evidence collected by officers or captured from a vendor's cameras. Traditionally, to identify a suspect’s vehicle, a detective would start with a general description, like a “gray SUV.” Then, the investigator would either enlist a crime analyst or manually comb through all footage from each camera and review individual automated license plate recognition (ALPR) hits. After that, they’d manually write out vehicle locations that match the description and try to find the suspect’s vehicle based on its proximity to the incident, direction traveled, and other factors.

This process is not only laborious but also time-consuming. When investigators need to solve a homicide or burglary, every second matters. Detectives and victims alike deserve better.

“I use Peregrine every day”

Peregrine, an advanced data analytics platform, takes hours or days of work and turns it into minutes by integrating a department’s data from disparate systems into one platform. Peregrine automatically surfaces relevant information – like linking a case file connected to a partial plate and vehicle description – so everyone in a department can make better, data-driven decisions.

Ashlyn Howard, a detective with Lathrop Police Department, was very familiar with the manual rigors of identifying suspect vehicles without Peregrine. Lathrop PD uses CCTV footage from Avigilon, along with Axon fleet 3, Vigilant, and InsightLPR for their ALPR scans — four tools that don’t readily talk to each other.

This is where Peregrine comes into play. Howard utilizes Peregrine to integrate CCTV video footage and ALPR scans into one common operating picture. She then uses Peregrine’s unique, precise, geography-based search capabilities to be more intentional with the camera feeds and ALPR scans she reviews — eliminating the manual drudgery of looking at every camera and ALPR scan and plotting hits on a map. "I use Peregrine every day, for all my cases," she explained. "Having one place to do everything makes my investigations more thorough."

Utilizing Peregrine, Howard efficiently filters through relevant footage based on vehicle descriptions and key locations. She can zero in on license plate information, identify suspects' routes, and answer critical investigative questions such as: Are the suspects residents or just passing through our city? Is this their first offense? Do they regularly visit the same location? Are they potentially involved in other crimes?

Peregrine makes it simpler and faster for Detective Howard to ask and answer these vital questions, driving her investigations forward. This increase in speed and simplicity is crucial when managing large caseloads to ensure victims receive the justice they deserve.

Want to learn more about Peregrine’s search functionality, including interagency data? Dive into our explainer here.

Solving crimes and protecting communities

Detective Howard shared two anecdotes where Peregrine was extremely useful to identify patterns, obtain information, and tie suspects to crimes.

The first was a homicide. “I obtained video of the incident – a fight outside a bar – and used Peregrine to track where the suspect’s vehicle went. I used Peregrine to determine the license plate of the suspect’s vehicle and learn where the victim went after leaving the bar, prior to the homicide. It was foundational to solving the case,” she said.

Detective Howard also solved a burglary case at a construction site with Peregrine. “I had a vague vehicle description and located it on camera heading toward the crime scene,” she explained. “Using Peregrine to cross reference ALPR scans, I learned that the vehicle had previously been in our city and was able to connect the suspect with a prior burglary.”

"Peregrine has multiple tools and features in one platform, which allows me to save time and work on more cases,” Detective Howard continued.

Ready to revolutionize your investigations? Connect with our experts and discover how Peregrine can empower your law enforcement agency with the ability to make data-driven decisions, streamline investigations, and enhance operational efficiency.

Peregrine is built on AWS GovCloud.