Strange mounted radios

Does anyone know what these radios are and why they are mounted on the outside of the trunk and on the hood of this vehicle I saw this when I was out and running errands today

Not radios -- license plate readers (LPR).

Used in a variety of ways -- stationary units are used in toll plazas to allow not stopping to pay tolls, etc. They can be/are also used to feed the plate info directly into a computer to do instant lookups for stolen vehicles and/or other wanted individuals....

They've been the subject of various legal questions and challenges but mostly from the perspective of storage of the data collected....

I recently saw a car with these scanners checking plates on vehicles parked in a shopping center parking lot -- I think the operator actually stopped and got out of his vehicle to look at my rear mounted plate since my state doesn't have front mounted plates.....

Also known as ALPR. The guys you see in parking lots are usually civilians selling data to brokers who then sell it to insurance companies and other companies. The guys I have talked to say it pays well. ... TT.

More and more police patrol units are being equipped with the ALPR systems these days. Haven't seen the civilian use of them yet up here.

Yeah I saw a job offer for about 2000 a month for driving one. It was a Towing & Recovery Company, basically drive around and scan plates, then call it in if it meets x criteria and have it towed, they called it a "Camera Car"

Interesting..

I don't know if a city government is considered "civilian" (as opposed to law enforcement), but here's a Parking Authority license plate reader from around my hood. Instead of the flat box cameras, it uses several cameras in "standard" cylinder housings mounted above the roof and on a frame attached to the "trailer hitch".

Jay911 said:

I don't know if a city government is considered "civilian" (as opposed to law enforcement), but here's a Parking Authority license plate reader from around my hood.

Click to expand...

Yup - that one is very obvious.... the one I saw in a parking lot recently was a small unmarked car with some guy in a t-shirt... he was either law enforcement or someone pretending to be....

When I lived in Maryland, I would hear what seemed like multiple times a day announcements outs from law enforcement dispatchers on the toll roads saying "LPR hit", etc. with details - usually stolen or unauthorized use - but sometimes more serious than that.... The toll facility cops were always bored and looking for some excitement when they weren't giving out tickets and would converge on the area....

The boot crews on those atrocious "parking" reality shows that are/were on a while back were also using ALPRs to find the cars they plan to take hosta- I mean, lawfully restrict from motion.

They also have fixed ALPRS mounted on traffic signals and overhead street lights on the border of the city. The PD then gets a hit on a stolen vehicle entering the city. And the chase is on.

Also some Sheriff and PD cars have them.