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

From HPD – https://www.houstontx.gov/police/nr/2007/nov/nr110207-3.htm and https://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.