Released on August 25, 2010
As a part of SGI's ongoing traffic safety partnership with the Saskatchewan RCMP, an RCMP vehicle equipped with an Automatic Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR) system was showcased today in Regina.
"Traffic safety is an important part of SGI's commitment to making communities safer," Minister responsible for SGI Tim McMillan said. "ALPR is fast and hands-free, and it enables officers to focus more of their time on patrolling our streets."
The ALPR equipment checks for unregistered or expired plates, stolen vehicles, and if the vehicle owner was suspended or is wanted for another matter. It automatically scans licence plates as the officer drives, enabling them to check a large number of vehicles without having to type the numbers in themselves, increasing their efficiency.
"We estimate that the ALPR allows our officers to complete the same amount of vehicle checks in one hour as they would normally require 900 hours for," Inspector Andy Landers, O.I.C., "F" Division Traffic Services said. "It's a real time saver for us."
SGI provided nearly $50,000 in funding to the RCMP for outfitting two vehicles with ALPR equipment. Saskatchewan is the second province in the country to have RCMP vehicles equipped with ALPR. As well, SGI has given money to all major municipal police services in the province for ALPR equipment.
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For more information, contact:
Kelley Brinkworth
Saskatchewan Government Insurance
Regina
Phone: 306-751-1837
Email: kbrinkworth@sgicanada.ca
Corporal Jeff Soroka
"F" Division Traffic Services, RCMP
Regina
Phone: 306-780-6880
Email: jeff.soroka@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Cell: 306-209-0422