11-24-2008, 03:33 AM
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2...t1123.html
Officer David Callister parks his patrol car under a shady interstate overpass, angling his cameras to target a flurry of passing traffic. Then he waits.
Infrared units mounted to the front of Callister's vehicle scan the license plates of a Casa Grande firefighter, an Ohio State football fan and everyone else who drives past as he hunts for stolen vehicles.
Every plate is photographed, time-stamped, labeled on a GPS map and automatically logged into an Arizona Department of Public Safety database. An electronic voice alerts Callister to stolen vehicles within seconds after they pass, giving him the ability to make quick arrests.
Callister is among the growing number of Arizona officers who use cameras to scan thousands of plates on a daily basis, sweeping parking lots and highways to recover stolen vehicles faster than ever before.
In the past two years, the technology has been lauded as more than a tool to thwart car thieves. DPS claims its program has the potential to intercept violent criminals and Amber Alert suspects, though lawmakers and activists raise questions about invasion of privacy for average citizens whose plates are scanned.
In a state that routinely ranks among the top five in the U.S. in auto theft, DPS scanned more than 1.6 million plates since introducing its first cameras in 2006 - leading directly to 122 felony arrests.
Callister, a DPS Border Crimes Unit officer, uses a set of the agency's 25 plate-reader cameras to track stolen vehicles south of Phoenix. He said the system supplements everyday police work, freeing him from the routine checks that used to consume his time.
"Three years ago, all I had in my car was a radio to talk to a dispatcher, and I had to wait my turn," Callister said. "If I was lucky, I could run 10 vehicles a day," he said. "Now, with the plate reader and my computer, I've had days when I've read over 8,000."
Officers in Valley cities use cameras to recover missing passenger cars. But Callister said stolen trucks seized on freeways are often linked to other border-related crimes. Dodge pickups, F-250s, Escalades and Tahoes are more commonly recovered than the Hondas or Toyotas labeled as the most-stolen vehicles in the U.S.
"That's not what's going to Mexico," Callister said. "Those are the little joy-riding vehicles."
Callister said he uses his cameras to hunt the "baddest of the bad guys" - thieves wanted in connection to the trafficking of drugs, cash and illegal immigrants. Gov. Janet Napolitano recognized him in December for using the cameras to recover 75 stolen vehicles and 140 stolen license plates in a 16-month period.
As Arizona police expand plate-reader technology, officials in California, New York and throughout Europe continue to add systems.
New York, for example, boasts hundreds of cameras on toll roads, bridges and overpasses in addition to those on state troopers' vehicles. One such camera disproved a man's alibi earlier this year, showing his true location the night a family was slaughtered at their home in 2007, leading to his eventual conviction on murder charges.
DPS and other police agencies already have proven that plate-recognition cameras solve crimes. The question is where and how Arizona will expand the technology in the future.
Officer David Callister parks his patrol car under a shady interstate overpass, angling his cameras to target a flurry of passing traffic. Then he waits.
Infrared units mounted to the front of Callister's vehicle scan the license plates of a Casa Grande firefighter, an Ohio State football fan and everyone else who drives past as he hunts for stolen vehicles.
Every plate is photographed, time-stamped, labeled on a GPS map and automatically logged into an Arizona Department of Public Safety database. An electronic voice alerts Callister to stolen vehicles within seconds after they pass, giving him the ability to make quick arrests.
Callister is among the growing number of Arizona officers who use cameras to scan thousands of plates on a daily basis, sweeping parking lots and highways to recover stolen vehicles faster than ever before.
In the past two years, the technology has been lauded as more than a tool to thwart car thieves. DPS claims its program has the potential to intercept violent criminals and Amber Alert suspects, though lawmakers and activists raise questions about invasion of privacy for average citizens whose plates are scanned.
In a state that routinely ranks among the top five in the U.S. in auto theft, DPS scanned more than 1.6 million plates since introducing its first cameras in 2006 - leading directly to 122 felony arrests.
Callister, a DPS Border Crimes Unit officer, uses a set of the agency's 25 plate-reader cameras to track stolen vehicles south of Phoenix. He said the system supplements everyday police work, freeing him from the routine checks that used to consume his time.
"Three years ago, all I had in my car was a radio to talk to a dispatcher, and I had to wait my turn," Callister said. "If I was lucky, I could run 10 vehicles a day," he said. "Now, with the plate reader and my computer, I've had days when I've read over 8,000."
Officers in Valley cities use cameras to recover missing passenger cars. But Callister said stolen trucks seized on freeways are often linked to other border-related crimes. Dodge pickups, F-250s, Escalades and Tahoes are more commonly recovered than the Hondas or Toyotas labeled as the most-stolen vehicles in the U.S.
"That's not what's going to Mexico," Callister said. "Those are the little joy-riding vehicles."
Callister said he uses his cameras to hunt the "baddest of the bad guys" - thieves wanted in connection to the trafficking of drugs, cash and illegal immigrants. Gov. Janet Napolitano recognized him in December for using the cameras to recover 75 stolen vehicles and 140 stolen license plates in a 16-month period.
As Arizona police expand plate-reader technology, officials in California, New York and throughout Europe continue to add systems.
New York, for example, boasts hundreds of cameras on toll roads, bridges and overpasses in addition to those on state troopers' vehicles. One such camera disproved a man's alibi earlier this year, showing his true location the night a family was slaughtered at their home in 2007, leading to his eventual conviction on murder charges.
DPS and other police agencies already have proven that plate-recognition cameras solve crimes. The question is where and how Arizona will expand the technology in the future.
Banana Wrote:I've already said that who is my fave motivational poster
Try not to irritate Bird he is Vagina Sensitive
