Mission is poised to become the latest northeast Johnson County city to install license plate readers at some of its busiest intersections.
The push to install readers in the city started last year.
The devices have been pitched in other neighboring cities as a way to help police investigate crimes and identify suspect vehicles that may pass through multiple jurisdictions.
Mission is one of the few cities in the area that has yet to put any up. Police Chief Dan Madden said it’s about time the city install license plate readers of its own.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve just seen an increase in the number of violent crimes that we’re not accustomed to,” Madden said. “We want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to protect our residents, our citizens, our businesses.”
How the license plate readers would work
- The automated license plate readers use cameras to rapidly photograph license plates on vehicles going through an intersection.
- The plate numbers are run through a database and flagged if they are registered as stolen or the vehicle is connected to an alleged crime or public safety concern, like an Amber or Silver Alert.
- The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has offered to store the data on its servers.
What Mission intersections would have readers?
The license plate readers are proposed for the following intersections:
- Foxridge Drive and 51st
- Johnson Drive and Broadmoor
- Lamar and Johnson Drive
- Roeland Drive and Shawnee Mission Parkway
- Johnson Drive and Nall Avenue
- Roe and 63rd Street
- 51st Street and Lamar Avenue
- 56th Street and Foxridge
- 61st Street and Metcalf Avenue
In addition, a tenth set of readers owned by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office would be installed at Foxridge and Lamar.
What will it cost?
- In total, it would cost $147,637 to purchase and install the license plate readers.
- The city has been awarded $140,000 in federal grant money, making up the bulk of the expenditure, if approved.
- With council approval, the remaining cost would be paid out of the Special Law Enforcement Trust Fund.
Next steps:
- The Mission City Council is scheduled to vote on the motion at the next council meeting, Wednesday, April 19.
- Merriam-based Electronic Technology, Inc., has been selected as the vendor for the project. The readers themselves will come from Genetec.
- City officials would also need to create a formal policy for how the readers will be used once they are installed.
Related news: More intersection license plate readers coming to Johnson County. What they’re for.
