Law enforcement technologyAussies want license plate-readers connected to drones

Published 26 September 2011

Canberra law enforcement authorities want to begin using UAVs together with license plate readers to track, autonomously, vehicles of interest; the police is considering using speed-detection systems to detect stolen cars or unregistered vehicles — and even integrate them into a broader surface-to-air surveillance network

 Australian law-enforcement authorities want to begin using UAVs together with license plate readers to track, autonomously, vehicles of interest.

The Canberra Times reports that the city of Canberra is installing new point-to-point speed cameras, which read a car’s license plate to calculate its average speed between two set points. Law enforcement agencies, however, are considering using the speed-detection system to detect stolen cars or unregistered vehicles – and may be even integrating them into a broader surface-to-air surveillance network.
“A specific benefit would derive if the P2P cameras were linked to UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) which could track vehicles of interest,” a senior police officer wrote, according to government documents reported in the Canberra Times.
The Daily Mail reported last year that a similar system is used in some British towns – and that one of these systems helped police make an arrest in February 2010.