SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Spartanburg Police Department has adopted new technology aimed at combating a prevalent issue within the city.
Each day, Jeremy Drake, who serves as a senior patrol officer for the Spartanburg police, encounters numerous vehicles during his rounds looking for stolen license plates, vehicles reported as stolen, or cars linked to individuals who are wanted. With a recent addition to his toolkit, identifying such offenses has become more straightforward.
“It is more or less a mobile license plate reader, where we are able to get real time feedback on stolen cars, stolen tags, wanted subjects that may be registered to that particular vehicle,” Drake said.
The system is connected to the cruiser’s camera and examines each vehicle that passes. If anything seems unusual, the officer gets notified.
"It emits a very loud, somewhat startling noise through the computer, and it will instantly bring all those windows to the forefront, alerting you right away that you might be near a stolen vehicle, a cloned license plate, or someone who has outstanding warrants," Drake explained.
Major Art Littlejohn stated that the system has assisted them in recovering an increased number of stolen tags.
Previously, we had to use a 'hot sheet' – a printed document that we'd review daily. Officers would check this list every day and attempt to memorize the license plates mentioned," Littlejohn explained. "Now, thanks to technological advancements, they receive automatic alerts instead. This has enabled us to recover more items as a result of these notifications.
It is turning out to be an indispensable resource for beat cops.
“We can focus on our regular patrol duties instead of actively searching based on a paper or a list that we get through email. We don’t have to worry about that one particular thing where we have to run tags every time we see a car that may match the description of a stolen car or stolen tag,” Drake said.
Each designated patrol vehicle comes fitted with the system.
The police stated that if your tag gets stolen, it’s crucial to inform the authorities immediately to document the incident. Additionally, you should apply for new tags through the DMV.
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