Advanced License Plate Recognition Camera System

This grant program is authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) (the 'Recovery Act') and by 42 U.S.C. 3751(a). The stated purposes of the Recovery Act are: to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery; to assist those most impacted by the recession; to provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health; to invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits; and to stabilize state and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive state and local tax increases. The Recovery Act places great emphasis on accountability and transparency in the use of taxpayer dollars.

Among other things, it creates a new Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board and a new website ' Recovery.gov ' to provide information to the public, including access to detailed information on grants and contracts made with Recovery Act funds.

The Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program funded under the Recovery Act is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. Recovery JAG funds support all components of the criminal justice system, from multi-jurisdictional drug and gang task forces to crime prevention and domestic violence programs, courts, corrections, treatment, and justice information sharing initiatives. Recovery JAG funded projects may address crime through the provision of services directly to individuals and/or communities and by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal justice systems, processes, and procedures.

The city of Mandeville will use the Recovery Act JAG grant in the amount of $22,162 to help fund the Advanced License Plate Recognition Camera (ALPR) System. The Mandeville Police Department will install seven cameras throughout the city that will assist the department in solving crimes and recovering stolen property. The ALPR works day and night and in adverse weather conditions by using an infrared camera to capture images of license plates. Using optical character recognition, the plate image is translated into text which can be used for database matching purposes. Applications for this system include stolen vehicle recovery, identification of felons or wanted individuals, amber alerts, crime scene intelligence, drug enforcement, and homeland security. The acquisition of this system will increase effectiveness of officer time, lessen the over-burdened court system by giving prosecutors evidence to prosecute criminals, and reduce unsolved cases of stolen vehicles.

NCA/NCF