All License Plates to be Photographed in Arizona

Michael Ferraresi
The Arizona Republic
November 23, 2008

Officer David Callister parks his patrol car under a shady interstate overpass, angling his cameras to target a flurry of passing traffic. Then he waits.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Infrared units mounted to the front of Callister’s vehicle scan the license plates of a Casa Grande firefighter, an Ohio State football fan and everyone else who drives past as he hunts for stolen vehicles.

Every plate is photographed, time-stamped, labeled on a GPS map and automatically logged into an Arizona Department of Public Safety database. An electronic voice alerts Callister to stolen vehicles within seconds after they pass, giving him the ability to make quick arrests.

Callister is among the growing number of Arizona officers who use cameras to scan thousands of plates on a daily basis, sweeping parking lots and highways to recover stolen vehicles faster than ever before.

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