Law-enforcement technologyLicense plate readers help police nab criminals

In the coming weeks, six Ohio law agencies will obtain a device that aims to make their jobs a little easier and the community safer. Mentor, Euclid, and Kirtland Hills police departments, Lake County and Geauga County sheriff’s offices, and Lake Metroparks Rangers will receive Automated License Plate Readers.

These devices can scan thousands of license plates per day with the purpose of flagging down license plates that have already been entered into a database because of felony warrants, expired plates, stolen vehicles, or various other crimes.

The Willoughby (Ohio) News-Herald’s Nick Carrabine writes that fourteen agencies across Northeast Ohio will receive the device, and the $580,260 total cost includes the units, software, and installation. Funding comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, and state Homeland Security Program dollars.

Automated License Plate Readers have been used at the entrances near the state turnpike and are also used by the Ohio Highway Patrol in various areas of the state.

Lake County Sheriff Daniel Dunlap worked with the regional homeland security committee to receive the devices, which cost between $16,000 and $20,000 per unit. Dunlap said the Automated License Plate Readers will only advance police work. “This will help us pick up more bad guys,” he said. “Obviously a deputy on patrol can’t be manually running license plates as fast as this can. It will also run plates continuously while on patrol. This is a great assistance in crime fighting.”

The device can be pointed in various angles and has the ability to read plates from one lane over when driving both with and against traffic, Dunlap said.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office hopes to use the device at hotel and motel parking lots to find criminals.

The Geauga County Sheriff’s Office will receive five units and Lt. Scott Niehus said they should be in operation in the near future.

Carrabine quotes Niehus to say that the device will only sound off if the license plate in question is already entered into a database. “It won’t alert us unless there is a problem,” he said. “It’s not like it’s running personal information of every plate it sees. It’s specifically looking for plates that are entered into a database for a reason.”

Euclid Police Chief James Repicky said he is excited to receive a unit because of how much ground the city covers. “Euclid has a big freeway stretch,” he said. “About four miles of freeway. This will increase our warrant pick-ups and stolen automobiles.”

As many local agencies are dealing with budget cutbacks and decreased staffing, it is important to add technology through available funding to help departments stay on top of crime, authorities said.

“The thought of receiving a device that can scan thousands of plates and alert us to potential identification of a serious criminal at no cost to us is appealing,” Lake Metroparks Chief Ranger Mike Burko said, adding the rangers cover more than 7,000 acres across 30-plus properties within the county. “It will certainly reduce crime, which is favorable to us.”