A Vehicle Identifier

A Vehicle Identifier

Corman Park Police increase identification by 400 percent

Corman Park is one of the largest rural municipalities surrounding Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The Corman Park Police aims to protect and serve its diverse community using the safest and most effective means possible. Its officers work 12-hour shifts, patrolling the community, responding to calls for service and assisting the federal police in criminal offenses and apprehensions.

John Garnet, chief at Corman Park Police, knew that technology could help the officers become more efficient on their dayto- day patrols.

“We were issuing a lot of speeding tickets, but our officers had no way of identifying unregistered vehicles, suspended drivers or wanted people unless they happened to pull them over for a traffic violation or noticed unusual behavior,” Garnet said. “It was almost by chance.”

After attending a provincial law enforcement event and seeing automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) technology in action, Garnet set out to acquire a system. He approached Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), the body responsible for organizing provincial policing programs, and applied for a new grant that funded ALPR systems for qualifying agencies.

“Because we primarily handle traffic enforcement, they understood our reasons for wanting the solution and granted our request,” Garnet said.

SGI funded one AutoVu automatic license plate recognition system by Genetec Inc., which was installed on a Corman Park Police patrol vehicle.

ROI in Two Months

After a successful one-day installation and quick user training by Genetec, officers were ready to hit the road.

“We started identifying a large number of unregistered vehicles, suspended drivers and people of interest,” Garnet said. “We were executing more warrants for suspects who have vehicles registered on the Canadian Police Information Center (CPIC) database.”

The increase in the number of identified vehicles was so dramatic, that the Corman Park Police generated revenues that covered the cost of the system in two months.

“We are identifying an average of 130 unregistered vehicles and 50 suspended drivers per month,” Garnet said. “That’s a 400 percent increase over what we were doing before. It used to be an 8:1 ratio of speeding tickets versus other infractions, and now all of sudden, it’s the opposite. This was when we knew it was a game-changer.”

Garnet used these statistics to approach the police commission and council for a second system, and it was quickly approved.

“The decision was easy to make since we knew that we could achieve a complete cost recovery in a couple of months and keep our community safer,” Garnet said.

Enhancing Officer Effectiveness, Safety

Today, the Corman Park Police has two patrol cars each equipped with a three-camera ALPR system. Soon, they will be getting a third. On each vehicle, two cameras face forward and a third camera faces behind. As officers patrol their routes, the ALPR system automatically captures the license plates of vehicles coming from both directions. The system compares all plate reads to a national policing database, and alerts officers of offending vehicles.

“The system has significantly increased the effectiveness of our patrolling officers,” Garnet said. “If the vehicle is entered into the CPIC database, we’ll get a hit. The system lets us know what we are dealing with, providing a different alarm tone and onscreen color for each type of hit. This helps our officers from a personal safety perspective, allowing them to delay a vehicle check until back-up is around during potentially dangerous encounters.”

Day or night, and during the snowy and cold winter months in Saskatchewan, the Corman Park Police rely on AutoVu to accurately identify wanted vehicles. Officers either park alongside roadways or drive around on patrol routes. They also have the option to manually enter specific plate numbers for vehicles they are looking for.

“There’s no way in the world that an officer can read every plate driving towards him,” Garnet said. “Now, AutoVu does it for them. It’s checking every single plate that they pass.”

Keeping Public Safety a Top Priority

When officers return to the Corman Park Police precinct, all data is downloaded to the main servers and the CPIC database is updated via Wi-Fi. Garnet uses the Security Center platform to investigate. He also pulls reports to better understand the performance of the system and relays information back to SGI who compiles data to justify program investments.

“Every police agency should have an ALPR system,” Garnet said. “Driving around and hoping to identify wanted vehicles or people of interest just by chance is ineffective. Offending or suspended drivers and vehicles need to be removed from our roads because they are a hazard to our community.”

This article originally appeared in the July 2017 issue of Security Today.

Featured

  • Security Today Announces The Govies Government Security Award Winners for 2025

    Security Today is pleased to announce the 2025 winners in The Govies Government Security Awards. The awards honor outstanding government security products in a variety of categories. Read Now

  • Survey: 60 Percent of Organizations Using AI in IT Infrastructure

    Netwrix, a cybersecurity provider focused on data and identity threats, today announced the release of its annual global 2025 Cybersecurity Trends Report based on a global survey of 2,150 IT and security professionals from 121 countries. It reveals that 60% of organizations are already using artificial intelligence (AI) in their IT infrastructure and 30% are considering implementing AI. Read Now

  • New Research Reveals Global Video Surveillance Industry Perspectives on AI

    Axis Communications, the global industry leader in video surveillance, has released its latest research report, ‘The State of AI in Video Surveillance,’ which explores global industry perspectives on the use of AI in the security industry and beyond. The report reveals current attitudes on AI technologies thanks to in-depth interviews with AI experts from Axis’ global network and a comprehensive survey of more than 5,800 respondents, including distributors, channel partners, and end customers across 68 countries. The resulting insights cover AI integration and the opportunities and challenges that exist with regard to security, safety, business intelligence, and operational efficiency. Read Now

  • SIA Urges Tariff Relief for Security Industry Products

    Today, the Security Industry Association has sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick requesting relief from tariffs for security industry products and asking that the Trump administration formulate a process that allows companies to apply for product-specific exemptions. The security industry is an important segment of the U.S. economy, contributing over $430 billion in total economic impact and supporting over 2.1 million jobs. Read Now

  • Report Shows Cybercriminals Continue Pivot to Stealthier Tactics

    IBM recently released the 2025 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index highlighting that cybercriminals continued to pivot to stealthier tactics, with lower-profile credential theft spiking, while ransomware attacks on enterprises declined. IBM X-Force observed an 84% increase in emails delivering infostealers in 2024 compared to the prior year, a method threat actors relied heavily on to scale identity attacks. Read Now

New Products

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises.

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening.

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.