RVCPD Plans to Purchase More License Plate Readers

The Rockville Centre Police Department plans to purchase more license plate readers in addition to the two already installed in the village, according to the commissioner.

The devices, which cost about $30,000 each, monitors traffic by taking 3,000 snapshots per minute of license plates on vehicles going up to 75 mph. This data can be used to generate lists of vehicles, and their registered owners, that entered or left the village at a specific time. They’re currently placed at Hempstead Avenue and Reeve Road; and Long Beach and Salem roads.

Commissioner Charles Gennario told Patch the devices were recently utilized in a larceny investigation. He said the department plans to cover more roadways when it gets funding.

The first two devices were purchased with a state grant obtained by Sen. Dean Skelos, the Herald reported.

The devices — which are not surveillance cameras — are connected to other readers in the state, so data can be shared between departments. So if the vehicle of a suspect wanted in Rockville Centre is detected by another department, it could inform the RVCPD.