SANFORD, Fla.,None — The Sanford Police Department is using new technology in its squad cars to catch criminals.
License plate readers were installed on two cruisers and police said they have seen fast results.
One investigator said he caught two Sanford men right after they stole a red pickup truck in Volusia County.
WFTV learned that 23 cars were stolen in Sanford last year. There have been 27 stolen cars reported this year.
Sanford Police Officer Devin Lucius said he hopes the license plate reader will help improve those numbers.
"You can find people that you would normally not be able to find," Lucius said.
The license plate reader cost $30,000. It uses cameras to scan the license plates and run the numbers through a computer, located in the trunk.
The system alerts the officer if it finds a stolen car, expired tag or a driver with a suspended license. After the computer comes up with a hit, the officer checks the tag to make sure the software did not make a mistake.
WFTV rode with Lucas's squad car for 45 minutes on Saturday and it scanned more than 300 plates.
Lorraine Wright's 1955 Chevrolet was stolen in Sanford nearly 50 years ago and she said she still feels the loss.
"It was our first car and we did love it," she said."It is a horrible feeling to have anything taken from you. Every so often when I see a '55 Chevrolet pass by I wonder if that is mine."
She agrees the system is a good way to keep car robbery numbers down.
"I think it is great because nobody has any business stealing anything from anybody," Wright said. "I do hope that they catch everybody."
Wright said that even if her stolen car is never found, she hopes the new system will help someone else find their car.