South Carolina Police Say Camera Helps Recover Stolen Cars

March 6, 2009

The police chief in North Charleston, South Carolina says a new camera system that can check license plates in an instant is so good at finding stolen cars and tags, he wants to set up a camera in high crime areas.

Chief Jon Zumalt told The Post and Courier of Charleston that the portable Automated License Plate Recognition System had recovered 10 stolen cars and 14 stolen license plates since the city bought it for $24,000 in May.

The camera scans a license plate, then checks it against a database of stolen cars or tags. An alarm sounds if there is a match. Officers previously had to call in a tag and wait for a dispatcher to check a database.

The American Civil Liberties Union says it wants to see how any information collected is used before deciding if it approves of the cameras.

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Information from: The Post and Courier,
http://www.charleston.net