LICENSE PLATE RECOGNITION PROGRAM
The License Plate Recognition (LPR) Program sponsored by LATIFPA is implemented through a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Under this program, grant awards to receive a license plate recognition system are made to law enforcement agencies in Louisiana through a competitive selection application process.
The license plate reader systems being awarded to qualifying law enforcement agencies are designed to capture pictures of thousands of license plates from moving or stationary vehicles, process the images and send the images to a centralized database, and within seconds determine if the vehicle matching the license plate has been reported stolen. This technology has also been used by law enforcement to track Amber Alerts, car jackings, and robberies with vehicle descriptions. License plate recognition systems were endorsed in October 2007 by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
LATIFPA awarded its first license plate reader system to the Baton Rouge Police Department on August 20, 2008, and its second license plate reader system to the New Orleans Police Department on January 1, 2009. These two license plate readers, which are currently deployed, have resulted in a total of 63 stolen vehicle recoveries, 12 stolen license plate recoveries and 28 arrests.
More recently, the LATIFPA Board of Directors approved the awarding of a second license plate reader system to the New Orleans Police Department, and approved an award to the Lafayette Police Department and the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office for their first license plate reader system, under the LATIFPA License Plate Recognition Program.