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License plate readers detect stolen cars
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By Michael Ferraresi
The Arizona Republic
PHOENIX, Ariz. — In just two hours, Phoenix police Sgt. Doug Hardin scanned more than 900 license plates, yet his hands rarely moved from the steering wheel of his unmarked pickup truck.
The magnetically mounted cameras on the flatbed of Hardin’s truck automatically scan vehicle tags using technology that recognizes the characters on each plate. Software in the laptop mounted inside the truck processes the characters in real-time, rapidly looking for matches against stolen vehicles in law enforcement databases.
An audible alert reminds him when a vehicle reported stolen is captured by the Automated License Plate Recognition cameras. http://www.azshrm.org/Event_Details.asp?fair=10007424
Hardin, a member of the Arizona Department of Public Safety Vehicle Theft Task Force, said the technology used by Phoenix and other local police departments helps officers find everything from expensive stolen cars to unreturned rentals - all automatically, with very little physical effort required.
“I can run 5,000 plates a day,” Hardin said. “An officer (manually) concentrating on nothing but stolen vehicles could run 400 a day, maybe, if he’s working real hard.”
Phoenix auto theft investigators attributed the recent 29 percent drop in citywide vehicle thefts not only to the rising use of ALPR technology, but also to an updated Arizona law requiring people who report auto theft to provide police with an affidavit that ensures greater accuracy in investigations.
ALPR has made Phoenix detectives’ jobs easier since the cameras were introduced about 18 months ago. Phoenix police use two cameras that are shared between precincts.
The Phoenix Desert Horizon Precinct was approved for a grant to buy its own camera system to use across exclusively in the northeast part of the city, officials said
Phoenix ALPR technology is provided by Tennessee-based PIPS Technology, which is contracted with nearly 300 U.S. law enforcement agencies, according to a company spokesman. The units cost roughly more than $25,000 apiece.
Lt. Troy Finley, who oversees Phoenix police auto theft investigations, said one arrest will make an impact on the numbers, since one talented auto thief could steal as many as 10 cars in a day.
Finley added that the strategy of “dredging” parking lots at malls like Desert Ridge Marketplace and Metrocenter will lead to at least a couple of arrests per outing.
Desert Horizon became a focus for auto theft investigations in recent years because of the size of the area and number of affluent neighborhoods that draw thieves.
Finley credited his team of about 16 investigators for the recent impact, adding that he lost four people through recent budget cuts.
“These guys getting off their desks and hitting the streets helps a lot,” said Finley, who took over the auto crimes unit one year ago.
“It helps buy-in from the patrol guys because they see us out there,” he said. “We can help them write search warrants for chop-shops and help them shut down some of the bigger operations out there.”
Stealing cars is as simple as knowing how to wield a screwdriver or “jiggle key,” often created from a nail file.
Finley said auto theft is mostly a juvenile crime, common for teens. It also draws young adults with drug problems, he said.
A 16-year-old boy, for example, was shot and critically wounded Saturday by Phoenix officers during an attempted auto theft in south Phoenix after the boy reportedly tried to strike officers with a stolen vehicle. The boy had an outstanding felony warrant for auto theft, according to police officials. His father, who had a history of drug-related arrests, was arrested at the scene.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety is set to deploy as many as 25 mobile ALPR cameras over the next two months after investigators work out the kinks with software.
Copyright 2008 The Arizona Republic