Device a boon to police
License plates are read faster, but some urge caution
Chelsea police officials hope to reduce the number of unregistered and uninsured vehicles on city streets and cut other crime by installing a license plate reader that can scan passing cars at a rate of up to 1,500 a minute.
The cruiser-mounted device, which has been successful in several area communities, including Revere, Salem, and Somerville, consists of two cameras fastened to the back of a squad car, using infrared illumination technology to make the license plate visible under most weather conditions.
With each passing car, a color image of the vehicle and a second infrared image of the license plate are transferred from the device to a laptop in the cruiser, which stores and cross-checks the information with local, state, and federal databases and alerts the officer to any violations.
Revere Police Chief Terence Reardon, who has been using the technology for much of the past year, says the license plate readers made an immediate impact in reducing unregistered and uninsured vehicles on city streets, as well as those reported stolen or wanted in connection with a crime. “We used to have to go up and down the streets and actually have to run plates left and right,’’ said Reardon. “To do the same job, within a minute, as to what vehicles are uninsured and unregistered, it’s a tremendous amount of utility there.’’
Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes is hoping for similar results.
The addition of the $22,000 license plate reader in Chelsea is part of a larger effort, which includes conducting targeted enforcement in the downtown area and cutting down on unlicensed cab drivers, aimed at promoting compliance with local traffic regulations.
Kyes said the device caught his eye during a brief demonstration this year, which flagged three vehicles that each had more than $300 in parking fines. “I don’t know if we’ll be that lucky all the time,’’ he said, “but if it’s anything remotely close to that, the unit could be paid for in no time.’’
Meanwhile, as local officials maintain that the devices are simply a cost-effective means for helping officers streamline basic police work, the technology has drawn the ire of some privacy rights advocates, who say the database represents another step toward a “surveillance society,’’ where every aspect of private life is monitored and recorded.
Thomas Nolan, an associate professor of criminal justice at Boston University, considers the devices to be useful “under certain criteria or a legal, lawful purpose,’’ but added that the final decision to use the technology should be subject to public input.
“This is something that should be done in a transparent process,’’ said Nolan, a retired 27-year veteran of the Boston Police Department, “and not something that’s just implemented without any kind of discussion.’’
In Salem, a license plate reader that was installed earlier this year has been catching three to five vehicles during an average shift, according to police Captain Brian Gilligan.
Concerns about misuse of the database are “a lot of worrying about nothing,’’ he said, adding the device has been “taking a lot of unregistered, uninsured cars off the streets, and it’s resulted in a number of arrest warrants.’’
“There are some things that you use occasionally in the right circumstances, and sometimes those things go idle for a long time until a particular situation comes up,’’ he said. “This is something that’s used every minute of the day.’’
In Somerville, which was the first community in the state to use the technology on a regular basis, Police Deputy Chief Paul Upton had a similar take.
Somerville officials have bought two of the devices since October, and police removed 19 uninsured and unregistered vehicles from streets during the first month the system was in place.
“We’re looking for people who are criminals,’’ Upton said, dismissing the idea of privacy concerns regarding the readers.
Still, in pushing forward with new technologies, municipal leaders need to maintain a balance between safety and privacy, said Christopher Ott, communications director at the state chapter of the ACLU. “License plate readers do have legal uses,’’ he said, “but we feel that statutory controls of some kind are needed to prohibit the systematic recording of the movements of thousands of individuals.’’ 