Township to Order More License-Plate Readers

Township Council is expected to vote this Monday to approve the purchase of two new license-plate readers for police.

Gloucester Township Police Department put its first automated license plate recognition system, which works through a patrol vehicle's laptop computer, in service late last year.

"It's been very successful both in terms of finding vehicles where the drivers are suspended and lead to a number of arrests," Police Chief W. Harry Earle said.

The devices cost about $16,000 each, Business Administrator Tom Cardis said during Monday night's Council work session, and are included in the township's 2012 capital budget.

Police touted the technology in January after it helped lead to the recovery of a car stolen out of Philadelphia and the arrests of two Camden men in connection with the vehicle's theft.

The license-plate reader scans plates on passing vehicles to determine if the car is stolen or if the registered owner is a wanted person or has a suspended license, among other violations.

More than 80,000 license plates were scanned by the Police Department's first unit between mid-December, when it was put in service, and mid-January. The device had registered "6,185 'hits,' meaning persons that are suspended, cars that are unregistered, or persons wanted," Earle said on Monday.

The license-plate reader currently utilized by township police is made by Federal Signal, of Oak Brook, IL.