MADISON – The recent adoption of a license plate reading system in town turned out to be a game changer in the capture of a man associated with multiple break-ins, as noted by Madison police on Friday.
Robert Bowers, a 65-year-old from Massachusetts, faces serious charges including two counts of third-degree burglary and one count each of first and second-degree criminal mischief.
Police reported that Bowers was identified as the robber who broke into Petrillo’s Restaurant and Culinary Concepts on June 11, leaving significant damage and theft in his wake.
More insights weren’t available from the department on Friday.
Collaboration with nearby police departments and the recently installed license plate reader were essential factors that led to Bowers’ arrest.
In December 2023, the local board of finance allocated up to $80,000 to set up this plate reader system. It was prompted by residents’ concerns over a noticeable increase in vehicle thefts, with incidents soaring from just nine in 2022 to 35 in 2023—an alarming 288% jump. Over the same ten-year span, numbers escalated from only one incident to that count.
Similarly, reports of items stolen from vehicles also rose from 39 incidents the previous year to 59 this year, marking a 51% increase. Since 2013, this type of theft shot up from 16 cases to 59.
The license plate reader technology has been powerful for law enforcement, enabling them to trace vehicles linked to various crimes and accidents. Communities across the state have been relentlessly installing similar systems in recent years, allowing a more efficient information exchange among local law enforcement agencies as well as state and federal officials.
