AI License Plate Readers Are Cheaper--So Drive Carefully

The town of Rotterdam, New York, has only 45 police officers, but technology extends their reach. Each day a department computer logs the license plates of around 10,000 vehicles moving through and around town, using software plugged into a network of cameras at major intersections and commercial areas. "Let's say for instance you had a bank robbed," says Jeffrey Collins, a lieutenant who supervises the department's uniform division. "You can look back and see every car that passed." Officers can search back in time for a specific plate, and also by color, make, and model of car.