Loganville to Purchase License Plate Readers for Police

Aside from the approval of the school resource officer contract, several agenda items were passed and other events occurred at the Loganville City Council meeting Thursday (Sept. 12). 

The council approved the purchase of a tag reader system for $22,500 from the city budget.

Currently, Loganville Police manually enters license plates into the GCIC system. With the new system, which has been adopted by many neighboring agencies such as Snellville Police and Gwinnett County Police, it would automatically read license plates, according to Loganville Police Chief Mike McHugh. 

The tag reader would alert officers of any outstanding warrants associated with the license plates, and it could help in locating missing children. It does not record speed.

"People who had a warrant out for murder on them have been caught through this system," said McHugh. 

The tag reader system didn't pass without some discussion from the council, though. At the beginning of the meeting during the adoption of the night's agenda, Councilman Mike Jones made the motion to take off the item from the agenda. He reasoned that he needed more information on the system and dozens of citizens have spoken negatively to him about it. Councilman Jay Boland seconded the motion.

Councilwoman Michelle Lynch and Councilman Rey Martinez disagreed, saying the council has enough information and they should go ahead and vote on the matter.

Boland, Jones and Councilman Mark Kiddoo voted for taking off the tag reader item while Martinez, Lynch and Councilman Skip Baliles voted to keep it. As the tie breaker, Mayor Dan Curry decided to keep it on the agenda.

When it came to the council actually voting on the issue, the vote was 5-1, with Boland voting against it. 

As for the Loganville Police Department's privacy policy on the system, the chief said they're going to set their internal memory on storing license plate data to 30 days, which differs from many agencies' 60-day policy. McHugh also noted that the department has the option to share license plate information if they choose to, such as in the rare case of a murder. 

The police department also has a zero tolerance policy for any officer who misuses the tag reader system, he added. 

"We take privacy information very seriously," McHugh said. 
 
Other highlights of the evening include: 

-An elderly man was arrested during the public comment portion of the council meeting and was charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction. 

-The council voted unanimously to hire four new firefighters for the city of Loganville starting January 1, 2014. 

-Four current firefighters were recognized for their outstanding service when responding to a call of a resident who went into cardiac arrest last month. They were awarded each with a plaque and the audience gave an standing ovation. 

-A proclamation was read declaring Constitution Week.