Chicago Deploying License Plate Reader Vehicles
LPR technology allows the city to match license plates against the list of stolen vehicles sent to the LPRs daily by the Office of Emergency Management and Communications. If the LPR system identifies a stolen vehicle, CPD officers are automatically alerted so they can investigate further.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Department Superintendent Eddie Johnson last week unveiled the first of 200 new patrol vehicles that will be equipped with License Plate Reader (LPR) technology. Every police district in the city will have at least six LPR-equipped vehicles in its fleet, with this investment building on the city's strategy for combating carjacking and car thefts. The result has been an 18 percent reduction in incidents of carjacking and a 31 percent increase in arrests as compared to last year, according to the city.
"We are ensuring our officers have the tools, training, and technology to be proactive in the fight against crime," Emanuel said. "Equipping squad cars with state-of-the-art technology and deploying them to every district in Chicago will help the Chicago Police Department continue to drive down crime in communities across the city."
LPR technology allows the city to match license plates against the list of stolen vehicles sent to the LPRs daily by the Office of Emergency Management and Communications. If the LPR system identifies a stolen vehicle, CPD officers are automatically alerted so they can investigate further. The alerts also will be analyzed in CPD's advanced Strategic Decision Support Centers, which are high-tech nerve centers within police districts across the city. "CPD's use of LPR technology demonstrates how sharing resources through targeted collaboration helps violent crime victims," said Johnson. "The recovery of these stolen vehicles and the arrest of the individuals driving them, will serve as a deterrent to other individuals considering committing similar crimes."
According to the city's announcement, all 200 cars will be deployed by early March 2019. There also are 126 LPR pole mounted units and mobile booter vehicles that are utilized by partner city agencies, including the Office of Emergency Management and the Department of Finance.