Helped ID suspect in Philipstown thefts
An automated license-plate reader helped investigators with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office identify a man accused of stealing from mailboxes in Philipstown, according to Sheriff Kevin McConville.
In his first quarterly report on the use of license-plate readers (LPR), delivered Tuesday (May 21) to the Putnam Legislature’s Protective Services Committee, McConville named the Philipstown case as one of several in which the 11 LPRs used by the department have led to the identification of suspects and arrests.
The briefing gave Legislator Nancy Montgomery, who represents Philipstown and part of Putnam Valley, an opportunity to renew her demand that the Sheriff’s Office publicize on its website the policy governing LPRs, which the Legislature revised last year and approved in December.
Under a policy, McConville is to report quarterly on their use, including the number of scans, orders to disclose data and requests from other police agencies and private entities through the state Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).
More than 8 million license plates were scanned between January and March and deputies received 6,336 alerts, McConville said. Investigators armed with Ring camera footage searched the scan data to identify the suspect in the Philipstown thefts, he said.
“He’s also involved in the same crimes in Dutchess County and we’re working with Dutchess County authorities to effect an arrest,” he said.
Scans also helped capture a suspect in a fatal shooting in New York City and led to the arrests of six people involved in a burglary ring with origins in South America, said McConville. The group is “rather extensive and highly organized,” he said.
Deputies used the LPRs to locate a teenager considered at risk of harming herself, said McConville, and to capture suspects who had been using stolen personal information to open credit accounts at businesses in Putnam County.
Police agencies made 15 requests for data, which is stored at Westchester County’s Real Time Crime Center and retained for two years, but the Sheriff’s Office did not receive any orders to disclose data. The state parks department submitted the only FOIL, and a “search was done with negative results,” he said.
McConville said in December that the Sheriff’s Office is undergoing the accreditation process and that, once the department and its policies are certified, commanders will determine which policies to post online.
He reiterated that position on Tuesday in response to questions from Montgomery about giving the public access to the LPR policy. A report from a committee set up to study the Sheriff’s Office recommended in 2021 that policies be posted online.
Ginny Nacerino, who represents Patterson and chairs the Protective Services Committee, said McConville “gets to analyze and determine what he feels is important.” But Montgomery asked: “Where does that leave the integrity of the policies we passed in 2021?”
The Sheriff’s Office plans to purchase additional LPRs, body cameras and other surveillance equipment using a $119,000 grant from the state Department of Criminal Justice Services. The Cold Spring Police Department used asset-forfeiture funds from the county’s district attorney’s office to buy, at no cost to the village, three readers that are mounted on Route 9D just south of Peekskill Road, at Little Stony Point Park and in Nelsonville on Main Street (Route 301), just east of Peekskill Road.
In 2023, Beacon installed LPRs on utility poles at four locations: northbound and southbound Route 9D, Route 52 and Washington Avenue.
