FAYETTE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ACCEPT $20,000 GRANT
The Fayette County Commissioners have authorized the acceptance of a $20,000 grant for the Sheriff’s Office to purchase automatic license plate readers.
The grant money comes from the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority of Texas, which requires a local match of $4,000.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office already has two automatic license plate reader units.
Sheriff Keith Korenek said the units look like speed limit signs to slow people down. In reality, it’s reading their license plates.
Automated software reads the plates and records the information to a database shared by law enforcement throughout the country.
Korenek explained that the technology can help them detect travel patterns. Also, if another law enforcement agency reports a vehicle stolen, it would pop up in the database, and then if it shows up in their area, they can recover it.
The Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority of Texas was established by the 72nd Texas Legislature in 1991. They award grants to law enforcement agencies, organizations, and concerned parties in an effort to raise public awareness of vehicle theft and burglary. They also send grant money towards education and prevention initiatives.