Mar 4, 2008 11:03 pm US/Central
New Cop Technology Tool Reads License Plates Fast
LAKEVILLE, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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The license plate recognition system (LPR) uses two cameras mounted on top of the squad to capture pictures of cars and license plates it passes.
CBS
Wanted criminals may want to steer clear of a south metro suburb from now on. Police in Lakeville are using a new license plate recognition technology to search for cars wanted in a nationwide database.
"We're going to be improving public safety through recovering more stolen vehicles and being able to find kids that might be missing through the Amber Alert system," said Officer Troy Hokanson.
He's one of 12 Lakeville officers trained to use the one squad equipped with the technology. The department would like to have it on the road 20 hours a day.
"It really helps the police to be able to do their job more efficiently. To be honest, you're really just automating what an officer has the ability to do on their own anyway," said Captain Kevin Manias.
Before the system, Hokanson said he could search 100 to 150 license plates in one 10-hour shift. Now, he can do that many in one trip around a full parking lot.
The license plate recognition system (LPR) uses two cameras mounted on top of the squad to capture pictures of cars and license plates it passes. It can pick up plates within 15 to 20 feet as Hokanson drives through downtown Lakeville. It also has infrared technology to work in the dark.
"The right hand camera will pick up the vehicles that are parked parallel here and the left hand camera will pick up vehicles that are passing us," he said.
The camera takes two pictures; one of the car and it's surrounding area, another of the isolated license plate. Within one second, the LPR reads what the license plate says and matches it to the database that is updated at least once a day.
The system isn't perfect. When Hokanson passed by a fence, the system read pickets in the fence as 1111111. He said it also picks lettering on mailboxes and signs.
"It doesn't hit 100 percent all the time. It's newer technology. They say it's 90 to 95 percent," he said.
The system is the first of its kind in Minnesota. It was donated by the Target Corporation through their Target & Blue program, an effort that helps local law enforcement.
Eventually, Lakeville wants to the system to have access to motor vehicle and driving records to find drivers with revoked or suspended licenses.
"It will bring a while another perspective of law enforcement opportunities in terms of keeping operators off the road that don't have a legal right to be there," said Manias.
When the officer gets a good hit, a siren goes off. They've had a few false alarms but no true hits yet.
The technology only reads the characters on the plates, not the state where the plate is from. Because the database is nationwide, a plate in Minnesota with the same characters as a wanted plate in Florida sets off the alarms.
"Oh yeah, it was exciting," said Hokanson.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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