A report from Illinois State Police (ISP) says that in 82% of interstate shootings this year, automated license plate readers (ALPRs) have helped state police identify an individual involved in or who witnessed the shooting. That jumps to 100% for fatal interstate shootings.
“The use of automated license plate readers has been a game changer in investigating interstate shootings, as well as vehicular hijackings and thefts,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “They provide us vital leads for our investigation, allowing us to track the events immediately leading up to and following the shootings to identify the vehicle involved. The license plate readers are an invaluable tool that assists us in identifying violent crime suspects.”
ALPR technology and intelligence can help ISP identify offending vehicles involved in shootings within minutes. The vehicle registration from the offending vehicle can then be entered into the ALPR alert system and officers could potentially locate that vehicle within a few hours. Kelly says ALPRs are a crucial resource that allows ISP to proactively police and evolve with new criminal trends.
From January 1 – May 31, 2024, ISP took enforcement action with the use of ALPRs in at least 260 investigative cases.
The funding and installation of ALPRs stems from the Tamara Clayton Expressway Camera Act (Expressway Camera Act), which was signed into law on July 12, 2019 and became effective on January 1, 2020.
In February of 2021, ISP received a $12.5 million grant to cover the costs of engineering, permitting, and labor associated with the purchase and installation of readers, controllers, servers/software, electrical power, and communications equipment required to install ALPR systems. The images from these cameras are not used for petty offenses, such as speeding. In 2022, the Tamara Clayton Act was expanded with an additional $22.5 million for equipment and installation in additional counties.
In 2021, ISP installed approximately 100 ALPRs along I-94. By the end of 2022, 289 ALPRs were installed in the Chicago area. In 2023, ISP installed 139 additional ALPRs in Champaign, Cook, Morgan, and St. Clair counties. In 2024, ISP plans installations in Macon, Madison, Peoria, Bureau, Lake, and Winnebago counties, with additional cameras potentially in Boone, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Henry, Kane, Kendall, LaSalle, McHenry, Rock Island, Sangamon, and Will counties, and Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.
