September 15, 2009 3:08 pm

Police Car Cameras Checking License Plates in Norwalk

� Three cameras mounted on the trunk lid of a police cruiser spot license plate images and then match them against a database of stolen and wanted cars.

Norwalk Police have installed systems in two patrol cars�that capture license plate images and�match them against a database of stolen and wanted cars. The systems employ three cameras mounted�on�a patrol�car’s trunk lid that are connected to a laptop computer located�on�the car’s dashboard. The laptop displays every�license plate spotted�on passing cars, and emits a warning when a plate in the database is detected.

The system, called Mobile Plate Hunter-900,�can read and match�3,600 plates a minute.�Every car with a�plate in the database is photographed and�its location�recorded. An infrared beam emitted by the cameras enables the system to work at night.

Lt. David Wrinn, the department's technology officer, demonstrates how the system displays spotted plates and how it warns a patrol officer that a plate in the database has been detected. — Lt. David Wrinn, the department's technology officer, demonstrates how the system displays the plates it has spotted and how it warns that a plate in the database has been detected.

If a new plate needs to be added to the database while an officer is on patrol — such as�for an “Amber Alert” — the officer can enter it with the laptop’s keyboard.

Lt. David Wrinn, the department’s technology officer, said that while the systems were being tested,�three stolen vehicles were located and�two people reported as missing were found.

The department’s two systems, which cost $23,000 each, were paid for by federal grants, as were the two new patrol cars they’re installed in.

Three cameras mounted on a patrol car's trunk lid spot plates on oncoming cars, as well as cars parked on both sides of the street.