License Plate Recognition and Homicide ... - City of Park Ridge

Given the aforementioned information, I researched current ALPR offerings and the benefits
they may have for our City. As implementation of this system would involve various departments, I
consulted with Diane Nelson, department head for Information Technology and Allison Stutts, Finance
Director.
The system seems to have a number of benefits for law enforcement. First, the system allows an
officer to be much more efficient in their enforcement. For example, parking enforcement officers can
use “virtual chalking” to identify those vehicles which have exceeded the posted time limit in regulated
areas. As the officer drives through the area, the system captures the license plates for the given time.
The officer can move on to another area and when they ultimately return, the system identifies those
vehicles which are in violation. What took an officer 20 or more minutes to do, on foot, in the past, can
be done in a few minutes, from the car with this technology.
The system also captures license plate information as the officer drives through town. These
records can prove valuable should an investigation present itself at a later date. For example, officers
frequently pass offending vehicles when responding to a call prior to them being aware that a specific
vehicle was involved. This system will capture all plates and allow for officers to go back later and
match a description of a vehicle with a license plate and registered owner information.
ALPR also checks license plates against the state’s database and can quickly identify stolen cars,
expired registration and/or warrants. This allows officers to take enforcement action in a much more
efficient way. Currently, officers are limited in the number of plates they check as they drive because
they are operating the motor vehicle. This system does all of that work for the officer on a consistent
basis.
Director Nelson feels that the systems we researched would integrate nicely into our current
squad car hardware/software configuration.
ALPR also proves to be highly effective at recovering fees and fines associated with parking lot
permitting and the boot process. Local information, such as the boot list, city sticker information and
approved permit holders, can be entered into the database and checked by the system as officers are on
patrol. Director Stutts supports the idea of enhancing our ability to identify and act on those vehicles
which are in violation of City ordinances.
Simply put, ALPR offers our agency a way in which to increase efficiency with regards to
enforcement of state laws and local ordinances. It also enhances our ability to identify and collect fines
from those motorists who are on our boot list or who are in violation of parking restrictions.
We currently have an opportunity to implement this system which was previously unfunded. As
you are aware, we budgeted $16,800 for the lease of the Cook County radios in the 2011-12 budget. Due
to delays on the part of Cook County, the system is just now being installed. This means that we have
not, yet, incurred any costs associated with the radio system. The money is available and I recommend
that we utilize it to fund the ALPR program.