Slot Barn funds effort to reduce crime around property

Mounted cameras assist St. Louis police with plate searches
Written by Patrick O'Connell
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

St. Louis -- As officer Bob Bates maneuvers his patrol car south on Jefferson Avenue, the computer mounted on the center console lets out a series of high-pitched tones.

Bates' eyes are locked on the road, but a high-tech system installed in the squad car is focused on the license plates of the vehicles around him.

Ping. Ping. Ping.

With each passing car, the computer registers a license plate number. Tiny cameras mounted atop the patrol car snap photos of each plate, feeding information into the computer.

While Bates changes lanes, the computer is checking to see if the car in front of him has been reported as stolen, is connected to a felony crime or is the focus of a search by police across the country.


St. Louis police will soon have the "automated license plate recognition system" technology installed in three department squad cars.



The first system was paid for by Lumiere Place in an effort to help cut down on car-related crimes -- a common problem -- around the casino.