Q. I used to talk with you when I was at the California Highway Patrol’s headquarters in Sacramento. Last week, you had an item about how some vehicles don’t have front license plates. Well, one likely objection to doing away with them for some people is that the CHP and some police departments have a device on the dashboard of their patrol cars that can read license plates of even on-coming vehicles. The plate number is instantly matched against a computer list of vehicles reported stolen. If the device gets a hit, the officer is alerted and can turn around and stop the vehicle to see if it is indeed stolen.
– Tom Marshall, San Clemente
A. Tom used to be a CHP spokesman and helped Honk answer questions – now, as a fine resident of Honkland he keeps in touch and here he broaches an interesting topic not often publicly discussed: license-plate readers.
The CHP and other police agencies have them, although most of their squad cars probably don’t.
Adding some details to Tom’s info, here’s how the nifty readers work:
Several cameras on the patrol car constantly scan the streets or freeways, pulling license-plate numbers into the system and alerting the officer via a computer screen and a sound that there is a hit.
The officer then ensures that the number on the screen is the same as the one on the vehicle, and calls dispatch to ensure the info is correct, such as that the vehicle was indeed stolen, explained Officer Ian Hoey, a CHP spokesman.
The CHPs computers are looking for stolen vehicles, suspects in felony hit-and-runs and at times cars or trucks tied to Amber Alerts. Other police agencies may adjust what their computers look for, such as also for motorists with a pile of parking tickets.
Of course, if front plates are visible to the readers, that is helpful.
But a cruiser rigged with a license-plate reader can pass a vehicle lacking a front plate and headed in the opposite direction, and often capture the rear plate.
Hoey told a story of when a front plate helped him solve a crime nearly 20 years ago.
There was a hit-and-run in Oakland with at least one person suffering significant injuries. Hoey looked at the rear bumper of the remaining vehicle, and saw an impression left by the other vehicle’s front license plate – and the suspect was tracked down.
“Having a front plate (available to law enforcement) can come in handy,” he said.
Q. Hello Honk: Yesterday, while driving on Beach Boulevard in the Midway City/Westminster area, we saw an Orange County Fire Authority engine getting filled up (yes, we saw a firefighter putting in diesel fuel) at a regular gas station. I was thinking the firefighters had a city yard to fill up at. I was wondering: Is this is a common sight around the county?
– Mario Luna, Anaheim
A. Certainly not uncommon, Mario.
The Orange County Fire Authority serves much of the county, and some of its station houses have diesel tanks, and some don’t.
At stations where there isn’t a tank, the crew on the engine or truck can fuel up at a nearby fire station that has diesel, or just hit a gas station and use the business account, Capt. Ben Gonzales said.
Standard operating procedure calls for the trucks and engines to have their tanks three-quarters full between dispatches, and not just because the firefighters might have to make a long drive to a fire or other emergency.
At the fire, the vehicles’ engines power the water coming out of the hoses. Via a panel on the outside of the fire truck or engine, a firefighter can throttle the motor, depending on the needed water flow.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk
Source: Orange County Register
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