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Police catch drivers with something to hide by punching license plate numbers into their laptops.
If you're ever on Route 110 in Amesbury, Mass., you'd better have a clean driving record. Instead of clocking speeders, our police officers are punching license plate numbers into their laptop computers to catch drivers with outstanding criminal warrants, unpaid insurance, and suspended licenses, among other things.
When a quick scan of local and national law enforcement databases uncovers a violation, the information is flashed on the computer screen so the officer can take immediate action.
Using a mobile information system called PacketCluster from Cerulean Technology of Marlborough, Mass., we've transformed our police cruisers into high-tech crime-fighting machines.
We now have instant access to a driver's motor vehicle and criminal history, giving us more powerful capabilities for catching everything from driving infractions to dangerous criminals.
When officers run a license plate number through the state motor vehicle and federal criminal databases via their wireless laptops, they can pull up a vast amount of information, including prior arrests, outstanding warrants and...