Ferrari Mailing List: In BC Canada now, coming to the USA?

[Dave Handa (dave]

Police track license plate numbers currently, but they have to input them
manually into their computers as they are driving.

 

 

 

 

 
<http://www.baitcar.com/news_government_and_police_launch_new_crime_fighting
_tool> Government and Police Launch New Crime-Fighting Tool

Nov. 9, 2006
Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General 

GOVERNMENT AND POLICE LAUNCH NEW CRIME-FIGHTING TOOL 

VICTORIA - British Columbia is the first province in Canada to use a new
crime-fighting technology, Automatic Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR), to
target both traffic violators and stolen vehicles, Solicitor General John
Les announced today. 

"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 are assisted by
cameras mounted in their cars that capture images of licence plates on
vehicles on public highways. The ALPR system reads the licence plate and
instantly compares it against the data base in the onboard computer. The
data base includes information associated with stolen vehicles and
uninsured, unlicensed and prohibited drivers. The data collected onboard is
transferred daily to a secure server at the RCMP Federal Operations
Building. If the license plate does not show a violation, the image will be
automatically purged from the computer system after three months. If the
licence plate shows a violation, the image is retained by police for two
years as required by federal law. As an RCMP unit, IMPACT falls under
federal privacy laws and the federal privacy commissioner has reviewed the
technology. The provincial privacy commissioner has also been briefed on the
ALPR project. 

The Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team (IMPACT) ran a
short-term pilot project where several ALPR-equipped police vehicles tested
the equipment in order to gather baseline data. Police are working with the
International Centre for Urban Research Studies (ICURS) at Simon Fraser
University and the University College of the Fraser Valley who are providing
data analysis for the project. 

"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 added that nine per cent of those hits were associated
with a stolen vehicle, 7 per cent associated to a prohibited driver, 25 per
cent of the hits were associated with an unlicensed or uninsured vehicle and
59 per cent of hits were associated with an unlicensed driver. 

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Gary Bass says the operational stage of the
pilot study begins this week. ALPR units are being deployed throughout the
Lower Mainland in strategic locations based on crime analysis trends. The
ALPR equipped vehicles are working with police resources from IMPACT, the
Integrated Road Safety Units, the Lower Mainland Traffic Division, and other
police agencies. 

"Stolen vehicles and unsafe drivers identified by ALPR units will be
targeted and when appropriate, charges will be recommended," said Bass. 

Air One, B.C.'s first dedicated, fully equipped traffic safety helicopter,
which was purchased by government with funding from ICBC, will play a
significant role in the apprehension of violators identified by ALPR. Air
One can carry out air surveillance and track the vehicle to a safe location
where ground units can apprehend. 

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