New cameras will target stolen cars

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office will soon update patrol cars with new technology to quickly scan license plates to help spot stolen vehicles.

The system, known as Automatic License Plate Recognition, uses cameras mounted on patrol cars to scan and process over 3,000 license plates an hour, while police are patrolling an area.

The plates are automatically analyzed with vehicle databases–allowing officers to locate stolen vehicles or identify the owner of a speeding car.

MCSO Capt. Andrew Eason is busy investigating equipment options and said trials are already paying off.

While testing one ALPR option, a patrol car captured a listed stolen license plate on a vehicle parked at The Woodlands Mall.

The deputy was alerted and remained in the area until the driver and passenger returned to the car. They were detained for questioning, and the car was recovered.

The Woodlands Township approved the purchase of the specialized equipment in November but left it up to the MCSO to choose which brand to use. "We are approving the project, but they will determine which equipment is best," Township president Don Norrell said.

Testing the technology

Eason is currently assessing three ALPR brands.

"MCSO is always looking for the finest crime fighting tools out there – for the best price. So we continue to test and evaluate different products daily," he said.

How it works

ALPR is a four-camera system, with two cameras facing the front and two aimed to the side, mounted on a patrol car to capture images of license plates.

It takes a series of photos and uses manipulation techniques to normalize and enhance the images so they can be analyzed with existing computer applications.

The system is capable of photographing 3,600 plates per hour and can capture images at speeds of up to 160 miles per hour.

ALPR was invented in 1976 in the United Kingdom and has been used heavily there since, Eason said.

"This isn't really a new technology, but it's coming into its time with user-ability," he said.

Eason said the older systems required two people to handle them.

"I wasn't thrilled with it then at all," he said.

Target groups

The new technology makes it easier for police to identify felons, place suspects at a scene, find stolen vehicles and identify suspended and revoked drivers on the road, Eason said.

ALPR can help with drug interdiction, witness identification and terrorist watch lists and can be used to assist with Amber Alerts and Silver Alerts.

"What I think is the most important – it can be used to monitor school and park perimeters for sexual predators," Eason said.

He also said it can be used to check on gang activity and will be an asset with crime scene intelligence and surveillance.

Eason said his tests with the Coban brand have performed as expected with only a few glitches, which are being addressed by the company's engineers.

"The ALPR system is a new product line for Coban," Eason said.

He explained during the Township meeting that each MCSO patrol vehicle is already using Coban's digital in-car video/audio system, which would work with the ALPR addition.

"The Coban ALPR will integrate easily with what we already have at a considerable cost savings," he said.

At the Township workshop, board member Nelda Luce Blair said she has seen ALPR systems at work and looks forward to seeing MCSO adopt the technology.

"They are amazingly accurate," she said. "With all the traffic in The Woodlands, how great would it be to capture a criminal on their way out of the area?"

"There is such a correlation between drugs and stolen vehicles and other crimes that the implications for this are bigger than it may seem," Blair added.

Township board member Tom Campbell was also enthusiastic about the new technology. "These operate on their own. The deputy doesn't even have to pay attention," he said.