Aug 18, 2008 8:05 am US/Central
Homeland Security To Scan D.C. Area License Plates
WASHINGTON (AP) ―
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Officials from Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia have agreed to install 200 license plate readers on police vehicles, at airports and along roads. The plan will be funded by federal homeland security grants for the area. (File)
CBS
Homeland security officials plan to dramatically expand the use of automated license plate readers to prevent possible terrorist attacks in the Washington, D.C., area.
Officials from Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia have agreed to install 200 license plate readers on police vehicles, at airports and along roads. The plan will be funded by federal homeland security grants for the area.
Britain used the readers in the 1990s to deter Irish Republican Army attacks. But in the United States, the devices have mostly been used to regulate parking or catch car thieves.
The readers will scan every license plate that passes and will run the numbers through federal criminal and terrorist databases.
New York officials recently said they plan to scan license plates of all cars entering Manhattan.
Privacy experts say it's a vast expansion of the use of technology for security.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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