Revolution in Suspect Vehicle Detection

Revolution in Suspect Vehicle Detection

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Automated license plate readers (ALPRs) are a specialized camera often mounted on police cars that can scan at speeds of up to 60 plates per second in order to detect suspect vehicle. Those scans are compared against what law enforcement usually dubs a “hot list” before alerting the officer to the presence of a potentially wanted or stolen vehicle. All scans are typically kept in a police database.

Now, Aerospace industry Leonardo has been expanding its ELSAG Automatic License Plate Recognition solution with an advanced computer vision software and cloud-based storage. The new add-on will allow investigators to search by more parameters: Color, seven body types, 34 makes, and nine visual descriptors in addition to the standard plate number, location, and time. The solution actively recognizes the 34 most common vehicle brands on U.S. roads.

Additionally, the software can identify unique vehicle markings like a pedestal spoiler, roof rack, spare tire, bumper sticker or a ride-sharing company decal.

This means that if an eyewitness is unsure about a plate number, the investigator can search for vehicles by color along with other provided descriptors.

The ELSAG ALPR solutions are used by nearly 4,000 customers in over 25 countries by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, according to newswiretoday.com.