Departments utilizing ALPR technology and e-tickets.

[NoWingedAngel]

Anyone know any departments in Tennessee using ALPR technology besides THP? What about e-tickets? My department currently uses Elsag software and e-tickets. My wife and I have been flirting with the idea of moving and going home for me is usually brought up as an option. Trying to see which departments are current with technology.

[bncunnin]

I've seen Memphis PD with ALPR cars, but I think it's very limited (traffic cars, possibly?). A couple small agencies around Memphis don't hand-write their tickets anymore, but they are very few and far between...

[Bill M]

Franklin PD has several LPR cars. We are also pursuing e-ticketing. We use digital in-car cameras, in-car computers, and are generally pretty advanced with technology (inclduing paperless incident and crash reporting). We're accepting apps until the 31st.

[SgtScott31]

My agency (Airport PD) has one ALR car. We write the same traffic citations as MNPD. I'm not sure if they have any officers using e-tickets, but we're still using the paper ones.

[AvalancheZ71]

The NH legislature banned the use of ALPR. What is the allure of the use of ALPR?

[Eddiebauer86]

The NH legislature banned the use of ALPR. What is the allure of the use of ALPR?

I dont know what the allure would be ticket wise, but as far as locating stolen vehicles/wanted persons/missing persons/stolen plates/order of protection/terrorism suspects and any other tag you type in, such as a homicide suspect or other....

its pretty freaking awesome. Ive only seen demo's from troopers, but from what I saw, that thing is amazing. You just drive around while it scans every tag within eye shot of your car and alerts you if it gets a hit. Waaaay easier than typing them all in yourself. I assisted a trooper one time locating a vehicle with an altered vin. He just typed the tag in and we drove around neighborhoods where the suspect was supposed to be. I was amazed at how fast that thing scans. HUGE tool for all different type of applications. I hate the current mentality, because everyone is up in arms about it due to the "privacy issue". Except that a person has ZERO expectation of privacy when it comes to their vehicle license plate.

[NoWingedAngel]

I dont know what the allure would be ticket wise....

Basically, you can focus on other things while the ALPR does its thing. I like to park in a gore observing red lights and seat belts while it scans tags as they drive past me. If I get an alert on an expired or suspended tag, then I check it. Much faster than looking at expiration stickers. It also helps if someone places a switched expiration sticker on the tag that they stole. We have a hot list update everyday from the state that produces the database.

Not sure how it would work in Tennessee, since the NCIC return doesn't specifically say "expired", etc, anywhere in the return.

[AvalancheZ71]

That thing just screams 1984 to me.

[NoWingedAngel]

That thing just screams 1984 to me.

Not really. All it is is an automated check of what we've been doing manually forever. See a tag, check it on your mobile or over the radio. This thing is just a faster version of that. And, it's neutral and detached so there aren't any accusations of you running the tag of every minority that passes you, etc.

[NoWingedAngel]

Franklin PD has several LPR cars. We are also pursuing e-ticketing. We use digital in-car cameras, in-car computers, and are generally pretty advanced with technology (inclduing paperless incident and crash reporting). We're accepting apps until the 31st.

Nice. I'll keep it in mind. We aren't in any hurry.

[SgtScott31]

Basically, you can focus on other things while the ALPR does its thing. I like to park in a gore observing red lights and seat belts while it scans tags as they drive past me. If I get an alert on an expired or suspended tag, then I check it. Much faster than looking at expiration stickers. It also helps if someone places a switched expiration sticker on the tag that they stole. We have a hot list update everyday from the state that produces the database.

Not sure how it would work in Tennessee, since the NCIC return doesn't specifically say "expired", etc, anywhere in the return.

Limited in TN to stolen cars, plates or NCIC entries. TN DLs are not tied into the tags in the sense it would alert if someone drove by who has a suspended DL. I wish it was. I'm not sure if that's in the works or not, but we need to get caught up to the times.

When it's working we read thousands of tags an hour in airport parking lot.

[NoWingedAngel]

I'm not sure if that's in the works or not, but we need to get caught up to the times.

No kidding. I started as a dispatcher in Tennessee, so I'm very familiar with their NCIC return format. You should see how Georgia does. Everything is automated. If your tag expires at midnight, it automatically switches without someone manually doing it, and it actually spells out the word "expired" or "suspended," so our in-car mobiles will actually detect it and say it out loud (expired registration, suspended registration, no valid insurance, etc.). Also, insurance companies have a direct method of uploading to the state database. So, if you call Progressive or Geico and get insurance, it'll show on your tag return in about 5 minutes.

I didn't realize how out of date technology-wise Tennessee is until I moved down here.

[Eddiebauer86]

I didn't realize how out of date technology-wise Tennessee is until I moved down here.

I felt the same way. I was a reserve officer in Arkansas and a Level II terminal operator for ACIC and that system was way more advanced back in 2003 than TCIC is today in 2014. When I came back to TN and went through the terminal training, I was amazed at all the things we COULDNT do...

[TN_Gator]

I felt the same way. I was a reserve officer in Arkansas and a Level II terminal operator for ACIC and that system was way more advanced back in 2003 than TCIC is today in 2014. When I came back to TN and went through the terminal training, I was amazed at all the things we COULDNT do...

Well, that's unfortunate. Is there a desire to update things in the near future? Or is it always a budget issue (as most things are today)?

[AvalancheZ71]

The elected legislature has a cautious approach when it comes to law enforcement here in Tenneessee. They are not anti police but they just don't like to push the yes button on all things LE. There are many pro-police legislators; however, in Tennessee when a representative or Senator sponsors a bill it must have a fiscal note applied to it. Anytime you add anything to the police arsenal you have to have the TN DOC but an incarceration figure on the bill.

The fiscal note is what kills many bills. Even the most pro-police legislation gets knocked down if the Governor's pet project isn't funded. When something comes up like e-tickets and databases they then figure how many people additionaly may get locked up and then that money is in a sense pre spent by figuring how many more three hots and a cot need be paid for. This is why so many bills are killed.