Riverside Police Place Two Automated License Plate Readers Into Service

The Riverside Police Department recently equipped two patrol vehicles with automated license plate readers (ALPRs).   The system consists of three cameras on the roof of the patrol vehicles that interface with the officers patrol car computer.

The system automatically takes high speed photographs of license plates and  checks them against a database.  Officers will receive alerts if the system detects such things as expired registrations, suspensions, stolen vehicles, wanted / missing persons, vehicles involved in investigations, etc.

The ALPR provides limited information while scanning  the license plate, and  officers can only gain further information from the database for a legitimate law enforcement purpose.