Crime & Safety
Evanston Police Using New High-Tech Tool
The automated license plate reader is on loan for a year.
Evanston Police have a new tool in their crime-fighting arsenal — an automated license plate reader that scans plates as the police squad car passes by and stores the information.
The reader is on loan to the department free of charge for winning the National Traffic Safety Challenge at the International Association of Chief's of Police Conference, according to a department press release.
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The reader consists of two cameras that were placed this week on the top of a department SUV. The reader takes a picture of vehicles and their plates as the squad car passes and stores the information digitally. The photos are downloaded daily into a state database, which can tell officers, for example, if a plate belongs to a stolen car or someone wanted on a warrant.
Within two hours of being installed, the reader helped locate a stolen vehicle, the department said.
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The system can be used to locate cars that have unpaid parking tickets, but Evanston police said they are not using their system that way.
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