License plate readers in police cars are already scanning vehicles throughout San Jose, but a new proposal would expand their use to the fleet of privately owned garbage trucks plying the city's streets.
Think about it: Trucks operated by contractor Republic Services cover the entire city once a week. That's something the San Jose Police Department can't necessarily say, as they struggle to recruit and retain police officers.
City Councilman Johnny Khamis says there's been an uptick in auto thefts, and mounting license plate readers on garbage trucks will allow the entire city to be swept for stolen cars every week.
"The truck drivers have no access to the information. It all gets automatically uploaded into the cloud and will ping the Police Department once a stolen car license plate has been spotted," Khamis says.