COURT HOUSE – Cape May County Prosecutor Robert L. Taylor announces the purchase of an Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) system for Cape May County Police Departments. Taylor reports that the county received Federal Grant money through the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness to purchase the system.
Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) is likely one of the most talked about technologies today in law enforcement, public safety, and the transportation sectors. The technology has proven itself time and again as a force multiplier that can bring about incredible results for agencies at every level. ALPR involves the use of specialized cameras and software that recognize a license plate, capture an image of the license plate, and interpret the characters of the license plate into data that may then be used for one or more purposes. These cameras may be either fixed or mobile.
With ALPR technology law enforcement has the ability to:
• Capture up to 3,600 reads per minute
• Capture plates at up to 160 mph differential speed
• Alert officers immediately if a vehicle is suspect
• Identify suspended and revoked drivers
• Capture data that aids in witness identification, watch list development, placing a suspect at a scene, terrorist interdiction, crime pattern recognition.
• Bolo suspects
• Crime scene intelligence and surveillance
• Monitor gang activity and locations
• Assist in drug enforcement
The County was able to acquire mobile ALPR systems and provide them to seven {7} municipal police departments: Ocean City, Sea Isle City, North Wildwood, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, Lower Township, and Middle Township. The Prosecutor’s office has also acquired a portable unit that can be deployed on an as needed basis. Alert ALPR data is downloaded daily from the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations Intelligence Center (R.O.I.C.). This data is comprised of only license plates that are associated with specific vehicles or persons for which or whom there is a legitimate and documented law enforcement reason to identify and locate. ALPR data can be made accessible to or otherwise shared with or transferred to other law enforcement agencies within New Jersey as well as nationally.
As the County’s chief law enforcement officer, Prosecutor Taylor has issued uniform countywide guidelines to ensure that ALPRs are used only for bona fide law enforcement purposes, and that the data collected by these devices are used in accordance with substantive standards and procedural safeguards that appropriately balance the need for law enforcement agencies to prevent and respond to terrorism and other forms of crime against the legitimate privacy interests of persons operating motor vehicles of the roadways of this County.