HONOLULU (KHON2) — Honolulu Police have been using license plate reading cameras in their patrol cars for years. But they’ve recently started mounting them in fixed locations. And if police had their way, the cameras would be all over the island.
No matter where you look, there are cameras everywhere. Some are for traffic. Some are for security. And there are now others reading your license plate in some parts of Oahu.
“It’s a great investigative tool for the whole island,” said Ofc. David Barnett, Honolulu Police Department.
Honolulu Police have been using automated license plate readers – or ALPR technology – in its cars since 2012. And thanks to a federal grant, HPD has been using those cameras in fixed locations for about two months now – on street lights and light poles in Waikiki and downtown.
Police say the cameras track stolen license plates and/or vehicles, and also help look for wanted people.
“It gives the detectives an investigative lead so that they’re able to go out, follow up on it, see where this person was and where they have been and they can backtrack, and move forward with it too,” said Bennett.
“We’re always very supportive of HPD using the latest technology, and this will better help them enforce the law,” said Rick Egged, Waikiki Improvement Association President.
There are 11 cameras mounted in various locations. According to HPD, last month, those cameras read close to four million license plates. Of them, 666 were registered as hits – either stolen vehicles or plates.
“It has gotten lot of good information for the detectives and investigators as well as stolen vehicles and stolen plates and so forth,” said Bennett.
“That idea that it is big brother is watching is not an issue,” said Egged. “It’s really more of a public safety issue and enhancing HPD’s ability to charge criminals and arrest criminals.”
Honolulu Police says it is looking to expand into other neighborhoods in the near future. It’s looking at Kalihi and east Honolulu. Police say the cameras are both battery and solar-powered. And they are portable, so they will be moved from time to time.
HPD says ideally, it would have ALPR cameras all over the island because it’s such a powerful tool.
“Everybody thinks this is just for looking for stolen plates and that is not the case,” said Bennett. “This does help the detectives.”