License Plate Readers Aid Multiple Police Investigations

Police departments in California, Ontario and Alabama say automated license plate reader systems helped identify or locate vehicles connected to theft investigations. In Berkeley, a plate-reader alert led officers to interrupt an attempted catalytic-converter theft, though suspects escaped and left tools behind; the city has reported more than 300 converter thefts so far this year. In Chatham-Kent, Ontario, a reader detected a vehicle linked to a Best Buy theft, helping police stop it and arrest three people, who were later released pending court appearances. Huntsville police said a reader’s recent scan helped them locate a stolen Volvo within 11 minutes, leading to a short pursuit and an arrest. A Grand Terrace case also illustrates how plate-reader records can help detectives solve a residential burglary, while officials caution that a vehicle’s presence is only one investigative lead and does not by itself establish guilt.