Columbia police began using the devices, which use Automatic License Plate Recognition, a form of optical character recognition, on Aug. 11 and within 30 minutes had a hit that led to an arrest.

Through Nov. 14, Columbia police arrested 50 people as a result of the scanners. The department has one on the back of a patrol vehicle and a street crimes unit vehicle. The 50 arrests resulted in 42 misdemeanor charges and nine felony charges as well as the recovery of five stolen vehicles and four stolen license plates.

“I’m real happy with the results,” said Columbia police Lt. Brian Richenberger, who has been monitoring the implementation of the cameras. “It works. One of these days it will help crack a very important case.”

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