License plate-reading cameras will watch for stolen vehicles in Turlock. Here’s where
The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department and Turlock are entering an agreement to use automated license-plate readers at six locations in the city.
Turlock will join an automated reader system that’s used in cities that contract for sheriff’s service, including Hughson, Patterson and Waterford.
County supervisors approved the five-year agreement under a consent item Tuesday, May 2. The reader system is operated by Intellisite LLC. The Turlock City Council approved the agreement two months ago.
The system includes cameras mounted on police cars and street poles. It is used to spot stolen cars and vehicles connected with criminal activity.
County Supervisor Vito Chiesa, whose district includes Turlock, said Sheriff Jeff Dirkse and Turlock police Chief Jason Hedden worked together to add Turlock to the master agreement.
“It is an investigative tool,” Chiesa said. “It makes it that much tougher for people who decide to steal cars. Turlock has the opportunity to save a little money by getting on the master contract.”
In Turlock, the cameras will be placed at the intersections of Monte Vista Avenue and Countryside Drive; North Golden State Boulevard and East Main Street; Lander Avenue and West Main; East Monte Vista Avenue and Geer Road; Lander Avenue and East Glenwood Drive; and Fulkerth Road and Countryside Drive.
Dirkse wrote in a staff report that the cameras automatically take photographs of license plates. The pictures are translated into letters and numbers, which are compared against law enforcement databases to “see if the vehicle has been stolen, used in a crime or is displaying lost or stolen license plates,” Dirkse’s report said.
If there is a match, the system sends an alert to law enforcement. The information first is verified with the dispatch center or the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System before action is taken, the report said.
An advanced feature can provide details to investigators, such as the make, model and color of the vehicle.
The camera network also has 10 locations near licensed cannabis businesses in the county unincorporated area.
The cost for the Turlock addition to the system is $102,828 per year. Turlock will reimburse the Sheriff’s Department.
