LPRs Coming To The Panhandle

License plate readers are coming to the Panhandle as departments such as Potter, Randall, Canyon and Dumas plan to use them to monitor large stretches of roadways and intersections.

100 readers are being made possible by a grant awarded to the Panhandle Auto Burglary and Theft Unit. That $500,000 grant courtesy of the Motor Vehicle Crimes Prevention Authority.

The license plate readers are an effort to keep communities safe. They automatically capture and log the plates of passing vehicles, aiding in the swift identification of stolen cars, wanted criminals, and missing people.

There is some concern among residents that the readers violate privacy. A few are also concerned about the date collected and stored.

That date will be held for 30 days and then erased.