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In New Mexico, license plate readers are installed at the five points of entry where commercial truckers stop when they pass through the state. The readers check the truck's license plate and tap into government crime, safety and tax databases. State inspectors are provided with information on whether the license plate is wanted in connection with a crime, according to New Mexico State Police Chief Robert Shilling. Inspectors also get real-time reports on the safety records of the trucking company and the individual truck, and whether state road taxes have been paid. The information is retained by the Department of Public Safety for six months and then deleted, Shilling said. "We don't use it except for criminal justice purposes," said Shilling. Vernon Herron, a retired commander of the Maryland State Police, said law enforcement's focus is on solving crimes, not storing piles of data for the sake of compiling information. The cameras have been instrumental in significant reductions in auto thefts and locating missing children through Amber Alerts, said Herron, who is now a policy analyst for the Center for Health and Homeland Security at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. "It has been very successful in returning kids to their families," said Herron, who worked for 27 years with the Maryland State Police and as public safety director for Prince George's County. In that county, auto thefts were cut by about 40 percent in two years with the help of the cameras.
[Associated
Press;
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