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www.insidehalton.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, October 12, 2017 | 24 Technology enables police to monitor licence plates by Graeme Frisque Metroland West Media A new technology installed in 10 Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) cruisers will not only improve on efficiency, but also on officer safety. The Automated Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR) system scans licence plates as vehicles pass a cruiser and compares them to Ministry of Transportation (MTO) and RCMP databases to identify expired driver's licences and plates, as well as identify any plates associated with criminal activity or active cases. Officers' eyes on the road "One of the things that we brought up to the police services board is that it works automatically in the background, and that keeps the officers eyes on the road, keeps them looking for other offences and what not instead of having to type plates in and run plates," said Const. David Allen, who accompanied The IFP on a ride-along to demonstrate the tech in action. "Looking for suspended drivers and stolen vehicles is one of the functions of a police officer, so just the fact it can operate in the background and I can go about my day doing my patrols, it's great. It's a huge boost in safety." "It's a force multiplier, too. Because if a typical officer can run 50 plates in a shift, this thing can do hundreds per hour," added Allen, who headed up the pilot project and rollout. According to Allen, the technology has been evolving for decades, but the HRPS is among the first handful of forces in the province to utilize the technology. The technology was tested last year in Burlington in one vehicle. The results were so positive, the Halton police services board approved the installation of 10 more units, which will ensure each of the region's three policing districts will be supported by at least three cruisers equipped with the technology. Unit connected to three cameras The unit, which is monitored through a special screen, is connected to three cameras in the cruiser, one on each side and one in the rear. The dual colour/infrared cameras monitor plates as they pass while the cruiser is either moving or parked on the side of the road. "Once the system is turned on, the infrared LEDs blast out infrared light, which when it hits a reflective licence plate, bounce back and the system makes a determination that it is a licence plate, takes a snapshot of that licence plate and then tries to decipher what the plate characters are," said Allen. "It then uses optical character recognition (to read the plate), then it checks those characters against a list of known bad plates, whether on the suspended driver list, stolen vehicle list -- it does it in under a second," he added. All the officers learn during their training that a hit is only a suspicion that something might be wrong with that plate, and that they still have to formulate their own grounds to lay a charge. All it does is (serve as) an extra set of eyes for the officer. Constable David Allen Halton Regional Police still have to formulate their own grounds to lay a charge," said Allen. "All it does is (serve as) an extra set of eyes for the officer." System records all licence plates The system records all plates, but only those identified with an infraction are kept on record for five years for court purposes. All other plate data is deleted regularly to ensure privacy standards are maintained. "The privacy commissioner of Ontario has set down guidelines for the use Automated Licence Plate Recognition systems for police service, and one of those guidelines is plate data that doesn't fit the criteria -- plates that don't show up on the hot list -- be deleted at least once every 24 hours," said Allen. According to Allen, the system doesn't change the way officers generally deal with minor offences, meaning it remains up to the officer's discretion to issue a traffic notice for minor offences. He made it clear the object of the technology isn't to hand out more tickets or aimed at any kind of "cash grab," but is rather all about improved road and officer safety. "Traffic safety is the number 1 priority for the Halton Regional Police Service. I feel that this system strongly ties into the priorities in terms of enforcement -- and keeping those who are bad drivers and have suspended licences in check," said Allen. Plates with no violations or warrants attached to them cycle through until the system gets a hit. The system breaks down offences into two categories; low priority and high priority. When a minor offence, such as an expired plate sticker, is identified, the system alerts the officer with a yellow flashing screen. A high-priority offence, such as a stolen car, fake plates or criminal warrant, appears as a red alert on the screen accompanied by a voice recording identifying it as a high-priority hit. The officer is provided with all necessary details on the screen instantaneously, and based on their discretion can then pull the driver of the marked vehicle over and investigate further. "All the officers learn during their training that a hit is only a suspicion that something might be wrong with that plate, and that they St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School Halton's premier school for Girls, Preschool - Grade 12 Discover how your daughter will benefit from an SMLS education for her whole life. Visit us at our October Open Houses! Saturday, Oct. 21, 10am - 2pm Tuesday, Oct 24, 9am - 11am She's a Millie. Go to www.smls.on.ca for more information.