Technology helping local law enforcement find hit and run suspects
Technology helping local law enforcement find hit and run suspects
https://www.kwch.com/2026/03/17/technology-helping-local-law-enforcement-find-hit-run-suspects/
Publish Date: 2026-03-17 07:31:00
Source Domain: www.kwch.com
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Following a recent string of hit and run crashes, local investigators are using technology to identify and locate suspects.
Jeremy Noel, a forensic investigator with the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, said the role of technology in investigations has changed significantly over the course of his nearly decade-long career.
“So when we have a case like a hit and run, we have to utilize the members of the community and the information we receive from them but we also have to utilize technology,” Noel said.
Cell phones, cameras play key role
Noel said the rise of cell phones has been the most significant development he has seen.
“Nowadays everybody’s got a cell phone and one of the big things we can use for investigative purposes in a hit and run is looking at somebody’s cell phone or at their cellular records from their mobile carrier,” Noel said.
Investigators also use CCTV and Flock camera footage when looking for additional details. Doorbell camera footage has become another resource.
“Many people have Ring doorbell cameras or just doorbell cameras of any kind of brand but that’s another thing that we have to rely on heavily too is the home surveillance video systems,” Noel said.
Technology comes with challenges
Noel said the volume of available footage and data can present its own obstacles.
“And that’s the other thing too is, we have to be able to filter through that and not spin our wheels on something that isn’t going to provide any results,” Noel said.
Community tips remain critical
Investigators do not always rely on technology alone. Noel said tips from the public can also point them in the right direction, though there are limits to what information can be shared during an active investigation.
“We have to involve them to a certain extent whenever we work a case like this but you know there’s also times that we can’t give out all the information cause it’s an investigative process,” Noel said.
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