Tool To Track Thieves
Jamestown, CA — It’s the newest weapon in the fight against crime. Two ordinary patrol cars in the Mother Lode have been equipped with cameras that scan and run license plates at record speeds.
“The cameras that are on top of the patrol car are actually scanning vehicles that go by constantly,” says Jamestown Station CHP Officer Jason Austin. “In the past, we’d have to manually run the license plates. The cameras scan the plates and run them through a database instantly to see if the vehicle is stolen or the owner of the vehicle has any warrants.”
The state provided both the Jamestown and San Andreas CHP units each with a new patrol car equipped with the cameras. Austin says his unit began using the patrol car last week and already tagged one car with a stolen license plate.
