BOISE, Idaho — Although people might not put much thought into license plates, some law enforcement agencies around the Treasure Valley say they are the key to solving various cases.
"It gives us a much quicker lead," Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford said.
Clifford said they are looking to install a license plate recognition system. The cameras would go at busy intersections throughout the county and take pictures of people's license plates.
Officers do not use the cameras to monitor traffic or catch people committing crimes, he said.
"They're simply a tool that we use to help solve crimes that mostly likely already happened," Clifford said.
Police departments in Meridian and Nampa already use the technology. Nampa Lieutenant Don Peck said the Nampa Police Department installed the license plate recognition system around town more than a year ago.
So far, he said the cameras have helped officers find stolen cars and homicide suspects. They have also solved a kidnapping, some missing persons cases and two traveling theft rings.
Peck said the cameras also help departments struggling with staffing shortages.
"We don't have the funds to be able to afford all the police officers that we need," Peck said. "So, we look for technology to be able to help supplement that and to be able to police in a little bit better way. License plate readers help us do that."
Although the technology is newer for agencies throughout the Treasure Valley, Peck said it has been around the country for a while.
Both Peck and Clifford agree it is helpful for neighboring agencies to use license plate cameras. Clifford said the Ada County Sheriff's Office started thinking about installing them after seeing Nampa's success.
"It'd be a little more efficient if we had some in our areas of the county," Clifford said. "Then we could also share that information with other agencies as well."
If and when the sheriff's office installs the cameras, Clifford said people should not be concerned about privacy issues. All of the pictures stay in the system for just 60 days.
He said there would be a lot of fail safes for people with access to the system. Supervisors and managers would do regular audits to make sure nobody unauthorized is looking at data.
Additionally, Clifford said the cameras do not pick up any personalized data. Officers would also only review the photos for very specific cases.
“When people think cameras, 'oh, big brother's watching me, the government is tracking me,' that's not what these are," Clifford said. "They're just a tool we use to solve crimes."
The sheriff's office has not purchased any cameras yet. Before they do, Clifford said they need to get permission from the Ada County Highway District to mount the technology on its poles.
An ACHD spokesperson said they are waiting to make a decision until "the Ada County commissioners had the opportunity to learn more and weigh in on the proposal."
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.