Toronto police say tech that scans licence plates automatically is a 'game-changer'

Toronto police say newly introduced technology that automatically scans the licence plates of vehicles passing police cars has been one of the biggest advances in the force's history.

The Automated Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR) system is now in more than 600 police vehicles, they say, and alerts officers to offences tied to licence plates.

"A lot of officers have told me this is a game-changer ... some compared it to the shift from the typewriter to the computer," said Det. Sgt. Jeff Bassingthwaite, the Toronto Police Service's ALPR capability lead.

He described the system as an unblinking electronic eye on the road.

Toronto police say the technology notifies officers, as they travel throughout the city, when a vehicle on a hot list passes in front of the forward-facing camera, whether it be in relation to a criminal investigation, public safety alerts or an Amber Alert.

This system has the capacity to read and capture plates of vehicles travelling at 225 km/hour. The field of view for the camera is 160 degrees and the detection range is about 50 feet in front of the camera.

"The officers don't have to run the cars, the system is doing it for them," said Bassingthwaite.

Bassingthwaite says the force's first success story was locating a missing elderly person with dementia. The man was found 25 kilometres from his Scarborough home.

ALPR is also helping to locate stolen vehicles, he says, an issue that was top of mind after a string of carjacking incidents last year.

Bassingthwaite says there are currently 110,000 stolen vehicles across the country in the system.

"Getting these vehicles recovered, getting the perpetrators arrested and before the courts is a huge priority," he said.

Bassingthwaite says he expects the system will continue to make officers' jobs safer, and potentially save lives.

"There's a lot of potential, we have a lot of exploration we need to do," he said.