Suffolk County Police To Deploy 70 New License Plate Readers

BAY SHORE, NY — The Suffolk County Police Department has has officially deployed 70 license plate readers across its Third Precinct, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced on Tuesday.

Thanks to a more than $1 million grant from Assemblyman Phil Ramos, Bellone said that the readers will speed up the response to crime, and in many cases help to prevent further crime from occurring.

"It's part of a comprehensive approach this department is taking to reducing crime in Suffolk County," he said.

Bellone also stated that the technology will provide police with data about where crime is happening, and that officers will be immediately notified if a vehicle has a connection to a crime or a missing person.

The readers have already helped solve several crimes, Bellone said, such as helping police to make an arrest in a Brentwood hit-and-run case, identifying a vehicle used in the kidnapping of two teenage girls, and identifying a robbery pattern that led to an arrest in an illegal dumping case.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how these license plate readers can assist the men and women at Suffolk County Police Department in accomplishing their mission," he said. "This technology is just another tool in our arsenal to continue to our our efforts here to reduce crime and remain proactive in protecting our communities."

Ramos, who served in the Suffolk County Police Department for more than 20 years, emphasized that the readers will only be used to document license plate numbers in terms of crime.

"It's not something that's open to all police officers just to go on a fishing expedition," said Ramos. "A police officer would have to draw a case number, and there has to be a crime committed. This guarantees that the protocols keep this system functioning ,and focus on what it's intended to do — that is to solve crimes, nothing more — and nothing, nothing less. "

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison also stated that the technology will only help police investigations.

"This is something that we need," said Harrison. "Using this type of technology is going to be major of assistance regarding how we're going to do predictive policing, and how we're going to do precision policing," said Harrison.