The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office is now equipped with a fleet of high-tech license plate scanners, designed to boost their capabilities in addressing vehicle-related crimes. As obtained by Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff David J. Lucero proclaimed the addition of 73 Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) systems will notably assist deputies in identifying stolen vehicles and aid criminal investigations. "We have had this technology for less than a month and it is already making a positive impact on our efforts to locate stolen vehicles and stolen license plates," Lucero said.
Each marked patrol vehicle has been upgraded with the new technology as part of their dash camera system. The ALPRs are capable of reading plates across three lanes of traffic, notwithstanding whether cars are coming towards or going away from the patrol units. The systems boast a detection range of approximately a mile and can rapidly scan and check the plates against state and national databases. According to the report, since the system's activation, deputies have encountered 177 hits, which have led to the recovery of two stolen vehicles and seven stolen license plates.
When a license plate is scanned, the captured information is stored for a duration of up to 180 days, becoming an investigative asset for various cases ranging from traffic violations to narcotics dealings. "This technology is a useful tool for our deputies in tracking down stolen vehicles and vehicles of interest in other crimes," Sheriff Lucero emphasized, as per Pueblo County Sheriff's Office. However, he also clarified that deputies must corroborate the information provided by the system before proceeding with any law enforcement actions.
