Police in Pleasant Hill soon will be able to identify stolen cars just by driving around town.
By July, the department will have an automated system that scans license plates — even at highway speeds — and runs the image through multiple local and state databases.
If the license plate reader system finds a match with a car that has been reported stolen, it notifies the police officer within seconds.
“Auto thefts are a problem and even though they are a property crime they can have significant impact on people,” said Pleasant Hill police Lt. Peter Enea. “It’s something we take seriously and this is just another tool to help us recover more cars and help us arrest suspects.”
Enea said Pleasant Hill police received 207 reports of stolen cars last year and 175 the previous year. Nearly 8,500 vehicles were reported stolen in Contra Costa County last year, according to sheriff’s department spokesman Jimmy Lee.
Pleasant Hill is using $25,000 in federal law enforcement grants to buy the system from PIPS Technology, a Tennessee-based security firm. The system includes three infrared cameras, which will be mounted on the light bar on the roof of a patrol car.
“Primarily, were going to use it for recovery of stolen autos. Right now officers can manually input license plates into a computer, but you’re limited by how many you can type and how many you can see,” Enea said.
But law enforcement could use the license plate readers for more than tracking down cars. Police say they could set up the system to monitor the area around schools or day care centers for cars belonging to registered sex offenders. And it could help identify vehicles used during a felony if police have a complete license plate number.
