License plate cameras fight crime

SOUTH DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Law enforcement across Central Florida are already using cameras that zero-in on license plates as a crime-fighting technique. Beginning Friday, South Daytona Police officers will start using the relatively new technology.

Just driving through a parking lot, police officers can capture thousands of car tags in an hour, and if there's a problem, they are put on alert immediately.

Daytona Beach Police Lt. Robert Ransom says their automatic license place recognition system would sound an alarm if it spotted a stolen car or questionable license plate.

“It has the ability to photograph the license plate of a passing car or parked car, take that info, compare it to a database stored in the system, and let us know if the vehicle is stolen,“ says Lt. Ransom.

The department purchased two of the $20,000 cameras two years ago, adding one more line of defense to their arsenal. The cameras are mounted on the cars and scan thousands of tags in an hour.

“The system has the capability of photographing about 30,000 plates an hour which is more than even humanly possible,” adds Lt. Ransom. “It also can photograph in complete darkness.”

The cameras have scanned thousands of car tags, helping snatch would-be criminals off the streets.

“It makes it almost impossible to fight that in court, because we have an actual GPS location from the computer and the camera system indicating that's exactly where the car was at the time it was taken.”

A Longwood company called NDI Recognition Systems manufactures the cameras which are currently in use by deputies in Seminole and Alachua counties, as well as by officers with Orlando and Gainesville police departments.

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On the web:
http://nditech.net/us/