http://www.psp.state.pa.us/psp/cwp/view.asp?a=11&q=173708
The Pennsylvania State Police was selected from among law-enforcement agencies across the nation to test the new Motorola Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) system. PSP is the only agency in the country testing the system at this time.
ALPR works this way: A camera that emits an infrared beam to read license plates is mounted on a PSP cruiser. It uses character-imaging technology to compare the license plate sequence against a database of stolen/wanted license plates. This database has no ownership or privacy information; it merely is a list of stolen/wanted license plate numbers.
If the plate read by the camera matches one in the database, the system generates a photo of the plate and vehicle on the trooper’s Mobile Office computer screen. The trooper then can make a check via the State Police CLEAN system to confirm that the vehicle is in fact wanted.ALPR offers a distinct tactical advantage to the trooper by letting him or her know immediately to check for additional information and, if necessary, to request back-up assistance.
On Oct. 3, 2005, at 1:36 p.m., a trooper was running radar at on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Chester County when a vehicle passed by at 91 mph.
The trooper activated his lights and siren and stopped the vehicle. The registration plate of the vehicle was captured by the ALPR system and registered a “hit” with the database. The trooper verified the “hit” and obtained backup to conduct a felony vehicle stop. The vehicle’s occupants were taken into custody and a search warrant was obtained.
A gun was found in the vehicle. Through further investigation, it was determined that the suspects under arrest allegedly had been involved in an attempted homicide murder, kidnapping, and a bank robbery.
In addition to excellent use of police tactics and procedure to apprehend these criminals, the ALPR and Mobile Office provided the Trooper with the information tools to enhance his own security and operational effectiveness.
this is actually rather interesting, i wonder if they use it only when pulling over or if they run it while in driving in traffic passing cars up?
anyone hear much about these yet?