Plate Readers Fight Crime
Due to the evolution of technology, law enforcement is finding new ways to crack down on crime. Take the latest piece of technology, for example, license plate recognition (LPR) systems. By combing powerful cameras with intelligent computer systems, techies have discovered a way to read plate numbers, and distribute them right to a troopers in-car computer in less time than it takes for a fast driver to sail past a speed trap. Some jurisdictions have already seen the success of these systems—find out how the implementation has made their roads safer.
What’s Behind the Technology
By Mark Windover, Remington ELSAG
License Plate Recognition (LPR) may be the fastest growing technology used by law enforcement today. Growing not just in the number of agencies using it, but also in the variety of its missions.
LPR systems consist of cameras mounted on a police vehicle with an in-car processing unit. Cameras take photos of license plates at the rate of hundreds per minute. Those plate numbers are then automatically and instantaneously compared to pre-loaded Hot Lists on the in-car computer. If there’s a match, the officer is alerted within milliseconds and is able to prepare for interdiction before the suspect vehicle knows it has been identified.
With 70 percent of all crime somehow related to a vehicle, LPR technology is picking out suspect plates from flowing traffic, busy parking lots and congested city streets with unbelievable results. Hot Lists containing plate numbers associated with a specific kind of criminal activity can help law enforcement crack down on epidemics such as suspended or revoked licenses. Statistics show that a driver with a suspended or revoked license is a great risk to others; they are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident.
Other missions include everything from stolen vehicle recovery to parking enforcement to identifying individuals who are delinquent on city or state taxes. A recent initiative by New York State deployed LPR systems toward the mission of catching organized car thieves by tracing suspect plates back to forged documents. Owen McShane, director of Investigations for New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, was instrumental in the design and implementation of the program. “We have found license plate readers to be a valuable tool in combating auto theft and stopping uninsured and unregistered vehicles from operating on our roadways,” states McShane. “It is a valuable tool in our arsenal to help make the roadways in New York safer.”
Even while involved in vehicle recovery missions, the systems can also provide time-sensitive, critical information on Amber Alerts, murders and robberies because a perpetrator is likely to leave the scene in a car. With even just a partial plate number, the odds of quickly locating a suspect vehicle increase dramatically with every deployment of an LPR system.
As the network of LPR systems expands, law enforcement gains a powerful tool for interdiction and intelligence that makes it harder for criminals to hide.
Automatic LPR: BC’s Newest Crime-Fighting Tool
By Erin White, Policy Advisor Vehicle Licensing and Road Safety Policy, Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
Auto-thieves and high-risk drivers are a significant challenge; they drive up insurance rates and cost Canadians millions in police, court system and health care costs. To combat this type of auto-crime, British Columbia (BC) introduced Automatic Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR) technology for a 2006 pilot project.
ALPR is a high-tech camera and computer database system. The cameras are installed in police cars and capture images of licence plates of vehicles on the road at a rate of up to 3,000 plates per hour. The plates are instantly compared against databases of stolen or uninsured vehicles, as well as prohibited or unlicensed drivers. In the event of a positive reading, the police can immediately investigate the suspect vehicle.
During the pilot, several police cars were equipped with ALPR units in the Vancouver region. The police partnered with the Insurance Corporation of BC and the Canadian Police Information Centre, who provided and updated required databases.
Data from the pilot project indicates that ALPR technology is effective, as it allows the police to target vehicles that may not have otherwise attracted attention. With so many benefits, the ALPR units continue to be an integral component in the fight against auto-crime in British Columbia.
ALPR joins other cutting-edge crime-fighting tools, including: Air One—a dedicated traffic safety helicopter; and bait cars—vehicles equipped with video cameras and ignition cut-off switches to capture car thieves in the act.