Shawnee is adding 11 more license plate readers around the city, courtesy of a federal grant. On Monday, the Shawnee City Council voted 5-1 to approve a nearly $70,000 purchase of License Plate Recognition equipment from the Merriam-based Electronic Technologies Inc. Councilmember Tony Gillette was in dissent. Councilmembers Kurt Knappen and Sierra Whitted were absent. The purchase is the result of an $83,000 federal grant under the COPS Technology and Equipment Program Invitational Solicitation for Fiscal Year 2023, which allows police departments to purchase equipment to assist in responding to and preventing crime, according to city documents. About $11,000 of the grant was previously used to purchase mobile license plate readers, said Capt. Nick Pike of the Shawnee Police Department during the meeting. The automated license plate readers use cameras to rapidly photograph license plates on vehicles going through an intersection. The plate numbers are run through a database and flagged if they are registered as stolen or the vehicle is connected to an alleged crime or public safety concern, like an Amber or Silver Alert. The Shawnee Police Department stores the data on its servers for a limited time. Once the retention period ends, the images are deleted.
Source: Johnson County Post
