Panama City Beach OKs purchase of 7 new license plate readers for police

Nathan Cobb, The News Herald
·2 min read

PANAMA CITY BEACH − With the help of more surveillance equipment, local law enforcement officials hope to better protect residents against crime.

The City Council last week approved the purchase of seven new license plate readers from Flock Group Inc. that will be installed throughout Panama City Beach. In addition to a $1,750 installation fee, the Beach also will pay the automotive safety equipment company $17,500 a year for the readers.

According to Chief J.R Talamantez of the Panama City Beach Police Department, the readers will add to 25 others already installed across the city. They are used to help the department locate vehicles associated with crimes.

The Panama City Beach City Council approved the purchase of seven new license plate readers that will be installed throughout the city.
The Panama City Beach City Council approved the purchase of seven new license plate readers that will be installed throughout the city.

"We've been using this technology for several years now, and basically we use them as a force multiplier to help us investigate crime in response to situations quicker with more accurate information," Talamantez said. "They provide us with analytical data that is helpful within our intelligence-led policing model."

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He also said two of the seven new readers will be installed at Frank Brown Park. Along with his department, they also will be used by the city's Parks and Recreation Department to oversee the popular recreation amenity.

While Talamantez would not reveal where in Panama City Beach the other five new readers will be installed, he said they will be located along roadways. Their locations also will fluctuate depending on traffic patterns.

"We don't want to broadcast those specific locations because it would defeat the purpose," Talamantez said. "If (criminals) knew exactly where they were, they would avoid those specific areas."

He noted the new readers also will be used by the Bay County's Sheriff's Office Real-Time Operations Center, know as BayROC. This assists law enforcement officials throughout the Bay County working to locate fleeing criminals as well as missing endangered people.

The new readers purchased by Panama City Beach will not be used to enforce traffic violations, such as running a red light or stop signs.

"There's no enforcement when it comes to (those) specific incidents," Talamantez said. "That's not how this is designed to operate. Nobody will be getting citations in the mail. ... These things merely capture the tags of the vehicles that pass the cameras, and we use that as historical information to help process investigations."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City Beach purchasing 7 more license plate readers for police