A look ahead at 2017: License plate readers

In late 2016, the Homewood Police Department installed license plate readers on two of its evening shift cruisers.

The readers will automatically scan every license plate they encounter while in use, comparing the plates to databases to see if there are matches with reported stolen vehicles, outstanding warrants or any other red flags. 

“We’re excited to see how it’s going to work for us and what we get from it,” Police Chief Tim Ross said. “We want to use it to our advantage in fighting crime.”

Ross said information collected by the readers is stored at the police department for 30 days, accessible only to the officers who use the readers, their supervisor and Ross. This storage gives the police the chance to revisit their data if a later crime has a possible Homewood connection, but Ross said they limited storage due to privacy concerns from the City Council. “We don’t want to infringe on anyone’s privacy any more than we have to in solving crimes,” he said.

Despite those privacy concerns, Ross said, the police department has handled similarly confidential data for many years with discretion. 

He noted the police have always been able to take down license plate numbers and cross-reference them with criminal databases, but the readers can do it automatically and on a much larger scale.

Ross also emphatically said the police department would never sell or share the information they collect through the readers.

The two officers handling the license plate readers both work the evening shift, from 2:30 to 10:30 p.m. This is the department’s busiest shift, Ross said, which gives it the biggest opportunity to test its new tools. 

The officers were chosen based on past interest and skill in using new technology.

Ross said he has seen several other police departments use these readers, and he expects the practice to become more widespread across the nation. 

He said it’s possible he’ll ask for additional license plate readers when he puts together his budget requests in the fall for fiscal year 2018. 

First, however, the two readers in use will have to prove they make a real difference in efficiency and crime-solving ability.