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November 30, 2007

Surveillance cameras on cruisers help Pittsburgh police rapidly scan license plates

The Pittsburgh Police Department is one of several police agencies utilizing cutting-edge technology to scan license plates from roving surveillance cameras on their cruisers. The city has been using the technology for a couple years now and it appears to be paying off. In the past two years, the cameras have helped Pittsburgh police successfully recover 180 stolen cars.

One of the main advantages of the system is that it saves time and manpower. A police cruiser equipped with a surveillance camera is able to rapidly scan the license plates of all cars it drives by. Imagine how much time it would take an officer to accomplish the same task on foot.

How does the system work? As the police cruiser moves past vehicles, the security camera scans the license plates and matches the characters and numbers up against a database. The database contains information on stolen cars and vehicles associated with crimes and other incidents. If the numbers match, the software triggers an alarm and the officer is alerted.

Read more in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review...


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Posted by Dan on November 30, 2007 8:56 AM

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