By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The Great Bend Police Department will receive more help in tracking possible criminals traveling through its jurisdiction. This past February, the Police Department secured a $132,000 federal grant to purchase license plate recognition technology and cameras.
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Police Chief Steve Haulmark said those funds are available to install additional cameras throughout town, which can notify law enforcement if a criminal or sex offender drives through.
"If these criminals come into the city, we don't always know where they're going," said Haulmark. "We had a stolen tag, and we had to spend additional time to track it down and figure out where the vehicle went. We've had moderate success with the cameras we have."
Great Bend currently has 12 cameras positioned at major passages in and out of town to catch license plates. Funds will be used to buy six fixed cameras and two mobile cameras that can go on patrol.
Haulmark said the license plate readers recently assisted in recovering stolen items toward the end of September involving Pawnee and Stafford counties.
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