Police chief makes the case for second license plate reader

UPPER GWYNEDD » Upper Gwynedd police are looking into buying a new piece of equipment they say could help make the township’s streets even safer.

Police Chief David Duffy made the case Tuesday night for a new automatic licence plate reader, saying it could increase the effectiveness of the department and be covered by costs saved from in-house training.

“There’s a lot of good stories that come out of this. Sometimes we put in something small, and

it ends up leading to a drug or DUI arrest,” Duffy said.

Since the department started using a reader last year, three stolen vehicles have been recovered, five stolen tags have been recovered, roughly 200 expired registrations and 200 expired inspections have been detected and about 150 drivers have been cited for not having insurance, according to the chief.

The first reader was funded by federal grant money, the chief told the board, and the department had originally asked for funding for another in their proposed 2017 budget, before deciding to ask for more off-site firearms

training instead.

“When I brought up the results of the budget and said that was approved but the license plate reader was cut out, the sergeants got together with the officers, and came back with a proposal,” Duffy said. “If we can do things in-house, in a simulated situation, and adjust our schedule so it doesn’t create overtime, would you consider going back for the license plate reader?”

The department’s firearms trainers then came up with a way to use cameras, holding cells, and instructors the department already has to accomplish the training they had hoped to do off site, and began to work with the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety to simulate calls to emergencies.

“They have to react to a simulation in front of them, with firearms or other uses of force, while communicating on the radio with real dispatchers. Almost everyone has gone through it, I went through it, it’s excellent training,” Duffy said.

The department included $35,000 in its 2017 budget for that training, and the license plate reader would cost an estimated $19,000, Duffy told the board. Making the change would not require a formal board action. Having a second reader would essentially double the department’s coverage time and area, and the readers are capable of scanning license plates in both directions of traffic at the same time, according to the chief, and can help track vehicles suspected to belong to sex offenders, abduction

suspects or otherwise wanted persons.

Commissioner Clare Edelmayer said she thought the current reader also helps with traffic calming on busy roads like Sumneytown Pike when it is used, and commissioner Steve Sands asked if the chief had concerns over pending litigation regarding privacy concerns with the readers elsewhere in the state. Duffy said that litigation should have no impact on the department, and knocked on the board’s wooden conference table for emphasis.

“We can’t pull someone over just because it hit. There still has to be a manual check through the system before we make a car stop, but overall, it’s been really good for us,” Duffy said.