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SPECIAL REPORT Round-up of ALPR and overpasses. Digital camera technol- ogy is used to obtain a broader view sur- rounding the license plate, allowing for more accurate plate recognition. The system can read up to 1,800 plates per minute. Data collection includes a color photograph showing the plate, the car and its immediate surroundings, the date and time of each capture, and the GPS coordi- nates of each vehicle's location when the photo is taken. Real-time intervention can include AMBER alerts, auto theft recovery, traffic safety, security, school bus safety and traffic pattern analysis. The digital cameras are attached mag- netically to the body of the patrol car to scan plates of passing cars, and the sys- tem stores locations and times of captured plates. An infrared camera captures im- ages of the plate and a computer reads the plate characters and compares them to the databases. The system can process parked or moving vehicles across four lanes and it recognizes plates for all 50 States, Canada 8. and Mexico. Fixed ALPR systems read up to 1,800 license plates per minute in any weather or time of day/night, capturing a color image of the car, GPS coordinates, and date and time. If a suspect vehicle is iden- tified, alarms are broadcast via wireless to a command center, nearby patrol vehicles and/or officers' PDAs. 7. Federal Signal - PIPS Technology www.fedsig.com www.pipstechnology.com PIPS Technology is a Federal Signal com- pany providing ALPR systems for ana- lytical capabilities. Recent deployment of i2-advanced analysis has combined infor- mation from ALPR data with additional intelligence stored in iBase databases and other data sources to enhance analytic tasks beyond that of recovering stolen vehicles. Fixed systems provide continuous monitoring of vehicles, communicating all database hits to local agencies for deploy- ment, and creating an evidentiary record of an infrared license plate image and color overview image of the vehicle. Exclusive to PIPS Technology is the TripleFlash™ that varies the flash, shutter and gain settings of the camera to capture three images. Only the image producing the highest quality is processed. The PlateFinder™ technology, also exclusive to PIPS, contin- uously searches the camera's field of view for the presence of a license plate. A dual lens camera is triggered to capture a color image of the vehicle and an infrared image of the license plate. Software enables users to organize and archive the data generated by the fixed (and mobile) units. The mobile system has dual lens, low- profile cameras that capture a color image of each vehicle while the infrared lens captures the license plate. Permanently mounted to a lightbar or used as a portable application, TripleFlash and PlateFinder technologies are used to deliver accurate images in optical character recognition. The system's SuperRex III Processor stores the data via an ALPR processor stored in the trunk of the patrol vehicle, and sends an alert to the officer's laptop when a ve- hicle of interest is identified. 8. Genetec www.genetec.com Genetec's "AutoVu" license-plate rec- ognition tool automatically reads license plates, compares them against selected da- tabases, and alerts officers about vehicles of interest through a mobile LPR solution that can be merged into a citywide surveil- lance system. AutoVu automates the veri- fication of license plates against wanted vehicle or revoked license databases. It im- proves officer safety with a non-intrusive application that allows an officer to focus on other, more critical, tasks. A cross check of every vehicle by a pa- trolling officer can be done, spanning up to three lanes on either side, or vehicles parked in parallel or angled settings. If a plate read matches an uploaded hot list, AutoVu will alert with an audible alarm and will display a color image of the identified vehicle, its license plate and the Click on EInfo at - www.lawandordermag.com reader service #24 46 LAW and ORDER I May 2012