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Auto licence place readers now active in the Sault

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Sault Ste. Marie Police Service is starting to use its new stationary, automated licence plate readers to crack down on crime.

The cameras are positioned at both entrances and exits of the city, with two on Trunk Road and another two on Great Northern Road, to find licence plates of interest.

Four years ago, Sault police had a plate reader installed on one of its patrol cars.

Each camera captures two images, one infrared and the other in colour, of two plates per second.

If a licence plate is flagged by the system, it will send an alert to police.

Officers can see if a vehicle is associated with a missing person, amber alert, human trafficking and organized crime.

The new system purges the images every 24 hours if not designated as a licence plate of interest.

"Due to our unique geographical location, we know organized crime smuggle drugs, weapons, and people through Sault Ste. Marie across Ontario and Canada," Sault Police Chief Hugh Stevenson said in a news release Monday.

"This initiative will allow us to monitor vehicles of interest to better protect this community, our children, family members and neighbours."

Police said "extensive consultations" took place with the officer of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario before the system was activated.

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