Scanner nabs unregistered cars, crooks

Branford, Conn. (WTNH) - When it comes to fighting crime police will use any tool they can get their hands on. In Branford , they've equipped one of their cars with cameras that act almost like a set of eyes in the back of officer's heads.

The electronic eyes are specifically designed to read and remember license plates. They are Branford's newest tools for proactive policing.

"Our database is updated every day with the Dept. of Motor Vehicle registration files, so this gives the officer an indication that a vehicle may not be registered properly," Lt. Geoff Morgan, Branford olice, said.

But that is only the beginning because police have noticed a trend. This kind of information doesn't just help cops find people who haven't been to the DMV. It helps them catch criminals.

"Many people that are involved in other types of criminal activity in our community are operating and manuevering in cars that are not properly registered, not properly insured, nor do they have proper licensing," Lt. Morgan said.

To show how the system works, Branford Police took News Channel 8 for a ride both on the streets and through the Walmart parking lot. The thing was beeping like crazy, picking up license plates literally left and right. Most of them come back clean -- no problems. But once and a while there's a hit.

Police can program the system to look for specific plates -- think Amber Alerts or vehicle descriptions from crime scenes. In fact, just last week they caught a suspected shoplifter after a store employees could offer only a partial license plate of the getaway car.

"Because the license plate reader had been through that parking lot moments before, we were able to search that database, come up with the actual registration and actually solve a crime," Lt. Morgan said.

Federal stimulus money essentially paid for these cameras, and at this point only one patrol car equipped with them, but they're working pretty well and Branford police haven't ruled out getting more down the road.