CPD to start scanning license plates
The new license plate scanners will be able to flag warrants.
Published Sept. 11, 2009
The Columbia Police Department and Boone County Sheriff's Department are working to equip police cars with a license plate scanning system after a trial with ELSAG North America.
CPD Sgt. Brian Richenberger said the ELSAG Automatic License Plate Recognition system is a scanner mounted at an angle on a police car that automatically reads and scans the characters on license plates of passing vehicles.
The information is then instantaneously cross-referenced with the FBI's crime database as well as other law enforcement agencies' databases. Richenberger said this makes it easier for police officers to find drivers with outstanding warrants, suspects linked with abduction cases or stolen vehicles.
If the plates are flagged in the database, an alert will sound informing the officer and, according to the manufacturer, it takes milliseconds to do so.
ELSAG claims the system is deployed in all 50 states and is in use with nearly 600 agencies.
Richenberger said he was very impressed with his trial.
"It is very user-friendly," he said. "It doubles the efficiency of a police officer."
Richenberger has submitted an application for City Council to review and approve ALPR and a technology grant, but there is no timetable for the deployment of the scanners on the streets of Columbia.
The system will be installed on one CPD patrol car and one sheriff's patrol car once everything is approved, Richenberger said. The program is estimated to cost $25,000.