Martinez council to host hearing on license-plate readers

By Sam Richards | Bay Area News Group

PUBLISHED: September 15, 2017 at 5:44 PM PDT | UPDATED: September 16, 2017 at 6:37 AM PDT

MARTINEZ — The police department plans to spend about $97,000 on two Automated License Plate Reader mobile cameras and one fixed-location camera, what the city's police chief hopes will be the beginning of a more extensive system of cameras that will help stem a regional uptick in vehicle thefts.

The readers would record the presence of stolen vehicles, felony warrants and Amber Alerts/Silver Alerts based on license plate checks against law enforcement databases.

"Often when people come into a city to steal cars, they're driving a stolen car," said Martinez police Chief Manjit Sappal, noting that several East Bay cities — Richmond, San Pablo, Piedmont, Danville and, especially, Pittsburg — have had notable success with such plate-reading cameras and technology. "They can help solve any crime in which we have suspected (license) plate numbers."

Vehicle thefts in Martinez, Sappal said, went up 47 percent from 2015 to 2016.

The money will come not from the city's general fund, Sappal said, but from "supplemental law enforcement funds" the Martinez department has collected over time.

At its regular meeting Wednesday night, the City Council will hear a report from Sappal as part of a public hearing on the readers. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Martinez City Hall, 525 Henrietta St., between Alhambra Avenue and Castro Street.

Source: https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/09/15/martinez-council-to-host-hearing-on-license-plate-readers/