Media Center > In The News

Port St. Lucie PD considering buying device that quickly runs license plate

Port St. Lucie police considering buying device that quickly runs license plate information

TCPalm

By Will Greenlee

November 25, 2009

PORT ST. LUCIE — High-tech gadgetry enabling officers to research thousands of license plates in minutes — an exponentially greater amount than they can run now — could be coming to the Port St. Lucie police, officials said Wednesday.

The police are evaluating the device, known as the Mobile Plate Hunter-900, for two to three weeks to determine whether to apply for a grant for its purchase, said Officer Tom Nichols, police spokesman.

“It looks for any type of violation whether it be a suspended (driver’s license), unregistered vehicle stolen vehicle, warrants, gang member, terrorist list,” said Officer Albert Sohl, whose patrol vehicle the equipment is installed on.

Sohl snaked through the aisles of a plaza parking lot near police headquarters Wednesday demonstrating the device, which captured images of parked vehicles and displayed close-ups of their tags on a laptop computer. The tags are compared to a database with information from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

“It is comparing each tag number to any of the information that’s affiliated with that tag on that registered owner,” Sohl said. “If they’re clear they’ll come up clear, but if they have a warrant, a suspended DL or registration I can start conducting my investigation and take the course that needs to be taken.”

Officers entering tag numbers manually can complete about 100 in an eight hour shift, Sohl said. In a brief media demonstration, Sohl ran more than 200 in about 10 minutes with the MPH-900 by just driving around.

“It’s very effective,” Sohl said.

ELSAG North America, based in Brewster, NY, makes the MPH-900, which costs $16,000 to $20,000, ELSAG spokesman Nathan Maloney said.

The system constantly looks for a field 12 inches long by 6 inches high with any sequence of numbers and letters at about kneecap level. Special optical character recognition software translates the image for the system to run or research. The system can run 1,100 tags a minute, he said.

Sohl said it works at night and in the rain.

More than 600 law enforcement agencies in the nation use the MPH-900, Maloney said.

“It’s really a tool to be more efficient and more effective,” Maloney said.