News10 Sacramento
December 16, 2007

License Plate Scans Beef Up Mall Security

Holiday shoppers at Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento this weekend may have noticed something besides the crowds and crowded parking.

Two new high-tech security cameras are now on patrol.

The cameras were paid for by a U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant to help keep a close watch on all the comings and goings at the busy shopping hub.

“We’re going to be the eyes and ears of law enforcement when they can’t be here,” Arden Fair Mall Security Manager Steve Reed said. “We’ll be able to scan plates as we go down each aisle and find stolen cars or vehicles with a felony warrant.”

Reed said the information from the cameras would only be shared with Sacramento police and in those cases, only plate information would be passed on to law enforcement. Other personal information about shoppers, their vehicles or their purchases is not included.

If the system finds a plate match from a “hot list” of stolen cars, mall security call Sacramento police and allow officers to handle the situation.

Reed said an instantaneous link between the mall and Sacramento police was expected to be fully in place by late January.

Reed said the first few days since the system went online Friday went well and already proved to be a valuable tool in identifying any stolen cars among the millions who shop here.

Reed said there was also another immediate benefit to shoppers: locating lost cars.

Lost shoppers who can’t remember where they parked can give security a few numbers or letters from their plates. Once that’s keyed in, the scans and a GPS system can be used to help pinpoint the car’s location among the mall’s 5,500 parking spaces.

After several hours of shopping Sunday, Cathy Urban of Rancho Cordova came outside to find her car lost in a virtual sea of parked vehicles.

“I got here at 9 (a.m.) and there weren’t that many cars,” Urban said.

Even though Urban was able to spot her car before being forced to call for high-tech assistance, she was happy to know the system was moments away from bailing her out of the embarassing situation.

“I think that’d be a great thing! Very good,” Urban said.

Similar systems are already in use at Sacramento International Airport. Reed said anything that can be a deterrent to crime is a good thing.