OC police department upping security efforts with new plate reader

The Ocean City Police Department is upping their security efforts for visitors and residents all year long, and they say one additional little tool can help do that: a license plate reader.

Lindsay Richard, the spokesperson for the Ocean City Police, says license plate readers are helping take wanted individuals off the streets.

"It's a great crime fighting tool. It allows us to get wanted criminals off our streets as soon as they get into town, " says Richard.

The way the license plate reader work, is that any car that passes through one of the locations where they are placed has their plates scanned. If there is a hit, the information will be analyzed by the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center, which well then then alert the Ocean City Police Department dispatch center.

Richard says the dispatcher will then alert  police officers via radio, and then the officers can begin searching for a car or suspect.

Richard says they've already helped solve crimes and take wanted individuals into custody using the plate reader.

For example, back in August 2015,  the system alerted police of a vehicle in the area stolen out of Accomack County. Officers were able to track down the driver and charge him with motor vehicle theft, and another man in the car was also facing burglary charges out of South Carolina.

"It's been a great response; we've been able to catch a lot of  wanted individuals and get a lot of  stolen cars back to their owners," says Richard.

Right now the town of Ocean City has two permanent scanners at the town's entrance; one on 140th street by the Delaware – Maryland line and another by Rt. 90. However through a grant and federal funding, the town is on their way to getting a permanent replacement for a third one installed on Rt. 50.

Richard tells 47 ABC  they are still in the planning phases of getting the new scanner. She says it takes about a year to get approval from SHA  and have it up and running.