Apr 21, 2009 6:04 am US/Eastern
Big Brother Technology Working Wonders For Cops
The License Plate Reader -- Or LPR -- Has Led To Dramatic Increase In Arrests By Suffern Police Department
SUFFERN, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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Since starting to use the LPR, the number of plates scanned and arrests made by the Suffern Police Department have gone up exponentially.
CBS
Drive in certain parts of New York state and your car will be on "candid camera."
A growing number of police departments are using high-tech cameras to read your license plate.
Having a sharp set of eyes is important for a cop on patrol, but no cop can compete with the electronic eyes mounted on one Suffern patrol car.
"The technology is incredible. It runs instantaneously," Suffern Police Chief Clarke Osborn said.
It's called an LPR or license plate reader.
It features two cameras connected to a computer.
As Officer Jose Martinez patrols every license plate he passes is captured, displayed on a computer screen, and the plate number is electronically checked against a hotlist of suspended registrations and stolen vehicles.
The police chief said in the first three weeks of using the LPR the results have been staggering.
"We ran over 50,000 plates and we made over 20 arrests," Osborn said. "Since Thursday we're now over 40 arrests, so it just keeps going up and up."
On Monday CBS 2 HD was in the cruiser for just five minutes before the LPR spotted a parked car that was on the hotlist for a suspended registration.
"We'll run it to make sure it actually is suspended," Martinez said.
The LPR can also be a tool to help solve crime as it makes an electronic record of vehicles it passes on the way to a crime scene.
"You can download all the plates that ran through the reader today and you have some way of knowing who was in the area at the time of the crime," Martinez said.
While some might complain about the Big Brother aspect, others said it's no big deal in this age of constant camera surveillance.
"Wouldn't bother me if it helps them catch criminals," one man said.
"People driving around without license or registration shouldn't be on the road."
Police said the electronic eyes are working so well they plan to get a second set soon.
A grant from New York state helped Suffern pay for its license plate reader, which goes for about $20,000.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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