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Defending People

by Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer Mark Bennett
Defending People » Page 'Big Brother on Wheels'

Big Brother on Wheels

September 24, 2008
by Mark Bennett

According to Officer Friendly, those are DEA-supplied license-plate reading cameras mounted to the trunk of the patrol car.

I don’t like it, but it’s good for business — my business — I suppose.



Posted in Big Brother, Houston Police Department

3 comments to “Big Brother on Wheels”

  1. jose wrote:
    25. September 2008 at 7:10 am :

    what will these be used for? help fish for probable cause?

  2. Mark Bennett wrote:
    25. September 2008 at 12:17 pm :

    Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe to troll for license plates connected to people with open warrants on the theory that those people are more likely to be riding dirty than people without?

  3. Trafficnerd wrote:
    25. September 2008 at 9:02 pm :

    From HPD - http://www.houstontx.gov/police/nr/2007/nov/nr110207-3.htm and http://hpdchief.blogspot.com/2007/12/more-technology-to-fight-crime.html

    From Platescan.com

    04/14/2008
    Houston PD purchases seven additional PlateScan units

    The Houston, TX police department recently enlarged its PlateScan Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) fleet with the purchase of an additional seven units.

    This will expand its fleet to seventeen, making it one of the largest single agency deployments in the United States.

    Houston PD was the first in Texas to utilize this revolutionary law enforcement tool, selecting PlateScan after an extensive competitive review. Since being initially implemented in 2006, PlateScan has helped Houston PD to dramatically increase its ability to recover stolen vehicles, find people wanted for a variety of crimes, discover parking violation scofflaws, and assist in Amber Alert searches and the serving of warrants.

    With the success shown in Houston, many other departments of all sizes in Texas are using or have ordered ALPR technology from PlateScan, making it the leading provider in the state. In addition to local policing, PlateScan is used to protect mission-critical Department of Homeland Security facilities and provide border protection across the United States.

    In conjunction with its companion comprehensive data analysis software, PlateScan is enabling police agencies, including multiple agencies sharing plate reading data, to solve crime more effectively.

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