News briefs
By Daily Bruin Staff
Jan. 10, 2005 9:00 p.m.
New camera system may help capture car
thieves
Car thieves have a new adversary ““ a camera system that
scans 2,000 license plates an hour and compares them to a stolen
vehicle database.
The Police Department is testing the mobile computerized camera
system designed to dramatically improve chances of recovering a
stolen car and arresting the culprit.
The system uses tiny digital cameras ““ hand-held or
mounted on the top of a police car ““ to scan license plates
and compare them to a state database of 123,000 stolen vehicles.
The cameras can capture up to 2,000 images an hour on roadways or
parking lots.
“˜”˜You drive down the street and it literally pulls
up every single car plate and tells you whether it’s
stolen,” police Detective Bob Graybill said.
“˜”˜This is going to change everything.”
A hand-held British-designed device that works like a radar gun,
and a vehicle-mounted unit developed by Remington Elsag Law
Enforcement Systems are being tested.
Compiled from Bruin wire services.
