New tool targets vehicle crimes

By Staff Sunday, November 12, 2006 http://www.pentictonherald.ca/article_2409.php
A new camera-computer device that photographs licence plates to help police catch car thieves and prohibited drivers is coming to the Okanagan.British Columbia is the first province to use a new crime-fighting technology, Automatic Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR), to target both traffic violators and stolen vehicles, says Solicitor General John Les.Supt. Bill McKinnon of the Kelowna RCMP said the technology is in demand and detachments are waiting to get it.“It’s very expensive, but we hope to bring it to Kelowna in the not-too-distant future,” said McKinnon.“It’s all about availability. Everybody wants to use it, so we have to get in line. It could be next week, it could be two months, but we’ll have it eventually.”A pilot project found that one out of every 50 drivers is committing a crime — either driving with an expired licence or in a stolen car.“Early results of the pilot project are amazing,” said Les. “In one hour, a police vehicle captured images of 600 plates and on average got one hit for every 60 plates.”Les said nine per cent of those hits were associated with a stolen vehicle, seven per cent associated with a prohibited driver, 25 per cent were for an unlicensed or uninsured vehicle, and 59 per cent were for unlicensed drivers.“We are taking back B.C. roads with this phenomenal technology,” said Les. “We’re targeting car thieves and prohibited drivers by using interactive, high-tech solutions, combined with criminal analysis techniques. It’s all part of the future of policing in B.C.”ALPR is a camera and computer database system. Police use cameras mounted in their cars that photograph licence plates. The ALPR system reads the licence plate and instantly compares it to the database in the on-board computer.The database includes information about stolen vehicles and uninsured, unlicensed and prohibited drivers. The data collected by the camera-computer device is transferred daily to a secure server at the RCMP Federal Operations Building.If the licence plate does not show a violation, the image will be automatically purged from the computer system after three months.If police nab someone for a violation, the image is retained by police for two years.Police say the federal and provincial privacy commissioners have reviewed the technology.RCMP assistant commissioner Gary Bass said the operational stage of the pilot study begins this week. ALPR units are initially being used throughout the Lower Mainland in strategic locations based on crime-analysis trends.“Stolen vehicles and unsafe drivers identified by ALPR units will be targeted, and, when appropriate, charges will be recommended,” said Bass.