GINA B. GOOD / PVT Automatic license plate reader shows how the infrared camera mounted on the vehicle?s light bar takes a photograph of a license plate, then converts it to data stored in the server for later use. GINA B. GOOD / PVT In just a tenth of a second, the compact dual-lens cameras mounted on this patrol vehicle light bar take infrared photographs of license plates as well as color images of the corresponding car. Advertisement

Watch out car thieves. The next patrol car you pass has your number ... literally.

Thanks to a $200,000 grant from the Department of Justice, the Nye County Sheriff's Office has six patrol cars throughout Nye County automatically taking color photographs of every car within a 25- to 30-foot range, as well as photographing the corresponding license plate numbers.

All that data is being recorded -- along with GPS coordinates -- in just a tenth of a second and stored for later searches as needed.

Not only will a deputy hear an audible alert every time he or she passes a stolen car, the patrol cars can be stationary on the side of the road or in a roadblock, and the newly installed state-of-the-art cameras will record every car that passes by.

Deputies on patrol no longer manually enter suspicious car licenses using the laptop computers mounted in their vehicles. The numbers are recorded automatically, allowing the deputies to keep their hands on the wheel.

In fact, if there is an alert out for a certain vehicle, the deputy doesn't have to slowly scan every car he sees. He can drive as fast as traffic allows -- or up to 160 mph -- and the Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) will alert him if the passes the vehicle he is looking for.

The ALPR is capable of accurately performing at traffic volumes of up to 3,600 vehicles per hour.

Four dual-lens cameras mounted on the patrol vehicle light bar hold the state of the art technology that works in daylight or at night.

The compact cameras take color photographs of vehicles, as well as infrared images of license plates.

According to Kris Robinson, regional sales manager for Pips Technology, the firm that manufactures the ALPR, almost all license plates have a coating that is highly reflective to infrared (IR), making the plates easily identified by the camera.

"IR isn't dependant on visible light," said Robinson Tuesday, while demonstrating the technology in the parking lot of the Nye County Emergency Services building.

"We get excellent performance in bright sunlight as well as in total darkness and in most adverse weather conditions."

One reason NCSO selected Pips Technology is the accuracy of its product, according to Sheriff Tony DeMeo, who first approached Sen. Harry Reid for funding in 2005.

"Our company has been rated by the Department of Homeland Security as having 92 percent accuracy," said Robinson. "Our closest competitor has a 68 percent accuracy."

At Tuesday's demonstration, DeMeo readily admitted he was excited to get the ALPR. "It makes me want to go back on patrol. This is stuff I dreamed about when I first went into law enforcement. Not only is this much safer for our deputies, it means we can respond to events immediately.

"If we get an amber alert, we can start hunting immediately. We can be mobile or set up stationary posts."

DeMeo also said having a color image of a vehicle can be a critical piece of evidence as well as providing immediate search parameters to release to the public.

"With this system, we can release a color picture showing we're searching for a blue coupe as apposed to a black and white photograph" said DeMeo. "We are stepping into the future. The ACLU has already checked this out and approved it because the cameras are not profiling anyone. They just photograph cars and licenses regardless of race or color.

"Our patrol deputies are going to be contributing data that can be used by our detectives. All the data is stored for later use as needed," explained DeMeo. "We can go back and search for a certain plate. We can establish patterns of travel for a plate and we will know where that plate has been on a regular basis."

"Nye County has been very proactive," said Robinson, who explained that the only other Nevada agency that has installed ALPR is Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. However, Metro has just a few patrol cars so equipped.

"This is the single largest purchase of ALPR in the state," he said.

Because Nevada has so many different license plate designs, a customized optical character recognition system was needed that could read skewed, off-axis plates and be tolerant of many designs. The captured infrared plate image is converted into a data file, which allows for fast searches.

Four patrol cars equipped with ALPR will remain in Pahrump, one vehicle is assigned to Smoky Valley, and one will be in operation in Tonopah.