OCEAN CITY — One week after the town secured a state grant for a license plate reader (LPR) for the north end entrance to the resort and an LPR on Route 50 helped the OCPD nab suspects in a stolen car with a stolen handgun, the resort’s Police Commission got a briefing on the fairly new crime prevention technology.
Last week, the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Control approved a $124,000-plus grant to the Ocean City Police Department for the installation of a license plate reader near the Maryland-Delaware border at the north end of town as part of the state’s ongoing effort to stem the flow of heroin across its borders. Before the ink was even dry on the grant approval, the OCPD made a significant arrest after an existing LPR on Route 50 near the entrance to Ocean City detected a stolen car reported in Virginia. In that case, three teens were found in the stolen car in a downtown parking lot with alcohol after allegedly discarding a stolen handgun.
While heretofore the OCPD’s use of LPRs has not been publicly discussed, the resort has been utilizing the technology for a few years. In 2013, an LPR was installed on Route 50 as a temporary measure and later became a permanent fixture. A state-of-the-art LPR has been installed on Route 90 and the approval for the new reader at the north end will complete the three entrances to the resort.
OCPD Chief Ross Buzzuro outlined the use of LPR technology for the Police Commission on Wednesday.
“We got into the LPR business in 2013 on Route 50 as a temporary arrangement, and we quickly realized its significance and value,” he said. “Around two million vehicles are scanned annually along Route 50 and the entrance to Ocean City, Route 90 now has a state-of-the-art LPR and just last week we learned we were receiving a $124,000 grant to place another one at the north end. Having LPRs at all of the entrances to Ocean City has been the vision and we will soon be there.”
According to the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center, the LPR technology provides law enforcement with automated detection of a vehicle’s license plate as it passes the reader. The LPR system consists of a high-speed camera, either at a fixed location or mounted to a patrol vehicle, and a computer to convert data from electronic images of vehicle license plates into a readable format, and then compare the information against specified databases of license plates.
In simplest terms, the LPR scans thousands of vehicle license plates in a short time and quickly enters the information into national and state databases. The information can then be relayed to law enforcement agencies notifying them of the presence of suspected drug dealers, fugitives wanted on warrants, Amber alerts, suspects wanted in other areas and many more.
OCPD Lieutenant Scott Harner, who oversees the LPR program, told the commission the technology is over 50 years old and the early cameras were applied to poles along roadsides. He said now an estimated 72 percent of law enforcement agencies around the country utilize the technology. Harner dismissed any perception the LPRs were being used for anything other than their stated purpose.
“We don’t store the data and we don’t keep the data,” he said. “All we get is the alerts. We don’t really care what John Doe and Jane Doe are doing, we only care what the fugitives are doing.”
Harner pointed to an incident just last week when the LPR on Route 50 alerted the OCPD about a reported stolen car entering the resort. The three suspects were soon located at a downtown parking lot drinking beer after allegedly ditching a handgun.
“We had three teens in stolen car with alcohol and a stolen handgun,” he said. “We don’t know what could have happened, maybe nothing, but we were able to quickly get them off the street without further incident.”
Harner related another recent story when the LPR on Route 50 alerted the OCPD of a wanted fugitive entering the resort in a vehicle.
“In that case, we had a violent parolee who was a convicted sex offender and a rapist who had made statements he wasn’t going to be taken easily,” he said. “We got the alert, found the car and made the arrest without incident.”
Harner told the commission the LPR on Route 50 included outdated technology and went down frequently. He said it would likely have to be replaced soon.
“What we miss when it goes down, we don’t know,” he said. “We do know what it does when it is up and running.”
Harner said preliminary research suggested replacing the LPR would cost around $7,000 for just the camera, but that he would investigate the price further. He suggested it would be appropriate to have one camera on either side of the highway. Police commission members suggested the new LPR could be funded in part by the city as a line item in the OCPD budget, or perhaps through forfeitures of money or property to the department following arrests.
Buzzuro said whatever the revenue source, it was imperative to update the LPR on Route 50.
“It’s worth its weight in gold,” he said. “We’ll explore all avenues, but we made need assistance with that down the road.”
