LITTLE ROCK (AP) - The Pulaski County Sheriff's Department is using a new system that scans license plates of passing cars, checking up to 800 vehicles per hour to see if any are stolen or if the owners are subjects of warrants.
Sheriff Doc Holladay said the unit known as Mobile Plate Hunter 900 is the first of its kind to be used in Arkansas.
"It will allow us to impact the overall crime rate," Holladay said. "It is going to help us to quickly solve those kinds of cases of wanted persons and stolen vehicles."
The scanner system cost $20,000 and was paid for through donations from four insurance companies.
Holladay said the system, which was put into use on Tuesday, can read plates of cars going as fast as 75 mph.
The scanner system includes two infrared cameras that are attached to a patrol car. Inside the car is a dashboard computer and a processor is in the trunk. The system can read plates as the cruiser is moving, scanning plates of parked and moving vehicles.
The license numbers are checked through the FBI's National Crime Information Center to see if the vehicle is stolen or related to someone with an arrest warrant. The system will also reveal whether a missing person is connected with the vehicle.
If there is a hit, the system uses an audio alert to inform the deputy.
"He can make a stop, or call for assistance, identify the driver and hopefully recover the stolen vehicle or wanted person," Holladay said.
State Insurance Commissioner Julie Benafield Bowman helped organize a pilot program that provided the scanner to Pulaski County. She said stolen vehicles cost insurance companies money and drive up the cost of auto insurance.
The system was developed by New York-based ELSAG North America, originally for the Italian postal service as a way to sort mail, chief executive officer Mark Windover said. The system is now used in 28 states by 300 different law enforcement agencies, Windover said.
"This tool has been very effective at finding stolen vehicles," he said. "Over the past three years, our agency partners have found over 4,000 stolen vehicles."
Last year, Pulaski County had 280 vehicles reported stolen, and 155 were recovered, officials said.
Holladay said the system will be used for more than just finding stolen cars.
"We will be arresting people who have outstanding warrants because that is our duty. Once we become aware that a warrant is there, we can't ignore that fact," he said. "But particularly, we are going to use this vehicle to identify auto thieves, people wanted for felony crimes, those kinds of things that directly impact the crime rate."
Story Highlights
-- Scanner reads passing car license plates, going as fast as 75 mph
-- Used to identify stolen cars or if the owers are subjects of warrants
-- System now in use within 28 states
Sheriff Doc Holladay said the unit known as Mobile Plate Hunter 900 is the first of its kind to be used in Arkansas.
"It will allow us to impact the overall crime rate," Holladay said. "It is going to help us to quickly solve those kinds of cases of wanted persons and stolen vehicles."
The scanner system cost $20,000 and was paid for through donations from four insurance companies.
Holladay said the system, which was put into use on Tuesday, can read plates of cars going as fast as 75 mph.
The scanner system includes two infrared cameras that are attached to a patrol car. Inside the car is a dashboard computer and a processor is in the trunk. The system can read plates as the cruiser is moving, scanning plates of parked and moving vehicles.
The license numbers are checked through the FBI's National Crime Information Center to see if the vehicle is stolen or related to someone with an arrest warrant. The system will also reveal whether a missing person is connected with the vehicle.
If there is a hit, the system uses an audio alert to inform the deputy.
"He can make a stop, or call for assistance, identify the driver and hopefully recover the stolen vehicle or wanted person," Holladay said.
State Insurance Commissioner Julie Benafield Bowman helped organize a pilot program that provided the scanner to Pulaski County. She said stolen vehicles cost insurance companies money and drive up the cost of auto insurance.
The system was developed by New York-based ELSAG North America, originally for the Italian postal service as a way to sort mail, chief executive officer Mark Windover said. The system is now used in 28 states by 300 different law enforcement agencies, Windover said.
"This tool has been very effective at finding stolen vehicles," he said. "Over the past three years, our agency partners have found over 4,000 stolen vehicles."
Last year, Pulaski County had 280 vehicles reported stolen, and 155 were recovered, officials said.
Holladay said the system will be used for more than just finding stolen cars.
"We will be arresting people who have outstanding warrants because that is our duty. Once we become aware that a warrant is there, we can't ignore that fact," he said. "But particularly, we are going to use this vehicle to identify auto thieves, people wanted for felony crimes, those kinds of things that directly impact the crime rate."
Story Highlights
-- Scanner reads passing car license plates, going as fast as 75 mph
-- Used to identify stolen cars or if the owers are subjects of warrants
-- System now in use within 28 states
