POSTED: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 - 12:33pm
UPDATED: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 - 12:44pm
Longview,TX — Longview police soon could have new high-tech tools in the department’s arsenal of crime-fighting equipment.
At their regular meeting scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, City Council members will consider approving two police grant applications: one for the purchase of a license plate reader and the other for a robot system that would be used by the Police Tactical Unit.
The license plate reader system is cutting-edge law enforcement technology funded from the Edward Byrne Memorial JAG Formula Grant Program.
Cost of the license plate reader program is $40,114.
The technology allows cameras — which would be mounted on patrol cars — the ability to read the license plate of any passing vehicle.
Once read, the plate information goes into a computer in the vehicle and is compared to plates in several databases, said Kristie Brian, Longview police public information officer.
The Texas Crime Information Center’s database can quickly match a license plate with a stolen vehicle, a missing person, etc.
Another database allows police officers to identify persons wanted on warrants from municipal court.
When there is a match, the officer is notified.
While the plate reader is checking databases for a hit, officers can perform other tasks such as answering calls for service or work traffic enforcement, she said.
Read more from the Longview News-Journal here. [1]