Salinas Police moving forward with new license plate reader company

The Salinas Police Department is getting a new tool to crack down on crime.

License plate readers will scan plates and send the information back to officers, but there are some concerns over who will have access to this data.

Here’s how it works: As Salinas police are driving, their car will automatically take pictures of passing vehicles. It doesn’t matter if they are parked or if moving. It will then see if that license plate number is associated with any crime.

Salinas city council approved four license plate readers for the police department, Tuesday night.

Physical machines combined with a database are assisting officers on the road by scanning all surrounding license plates in real time.

“They alert the officer right away, so the officers understands there is something and what the match is for. Is it a stolen car? Is it a wanted vehicle? Is it a missing person?,” says Salinas PD Cmdr. Mike Groves.

The cost is just over $85,000. Its a tool they’ve used in the past, but now they are getting newer, more reliable equipment and software.

Commander Groves tells us all trained Salinas Police personnel will have access to the data, which is useful not just on the road, but with investigations.

“After the fact, so as cars are leaving the scene or an area of a shooting or of any type of a crime, it gives the officers something to follow up on.”

But in the year of social media infringing on personal data, will anyone else be able to see this information?

“We do have the ability to share it with other law enforcement agencies. They have to specifically make a request. They can’t just pull in and look at it. The company themselves that we are getting it through, they have no access to it at all,” says Groves.

The company is ‘Vigilant Solutions.’ The same one under contract with ICE. Groves said like with any other outside agency, ICE can’t just take Salinas’ data.

“The federal government can’t just come in and say ‘I want Salinas’ info’ without the permission of the chief of police,” says Groves.

Just approved by city council on Tuesday, this software is not in Police vehicles yet. Commander Groves tells us it will take about a month or so.