OSP has been using this technology for some time now.

Wow Norton will really be able to keep up with there local drunks and drivers who drive under suspension. This technology still need someone with Common sense to run it since an entered vehicle could be being driven by an innocent person.

Well, that will be a problem, won't it.

Picture the stereotypical officer insisting that such-and-such in the car is some hardened felon, when they are just using the car to go to some appointment.

Put aside money for lawsuits. At least for mine!

Big Brother in it's finest hours. '1984'

sometime science can move to fast, and go to far.
Everyone is not guilty, but the police thinks they are

We need these in Akron - particulary South Akron. Bring them on!!!

There isn't enough jail space as it is.... Either we build more. Or go with faster quicker punishments.

I recommend Butwhippings with a rattan cane. Like they did to the fay kid that spray painted cars in Singapore.....

Fast to the point and much more effective than time outs in jail... Just ask Mike fay if he ever got out of line again after the beating he took....

''Just think about the good it can do in a school setting,'' he said. ''It will help weed out anyone who isn't supposed to be there, including sex offenders who park nearby.''

The cred of those that would stomp on your rights. It will make kids safer if we take away the rights the founders of this country bled for.

oops I meant creed.. or credo somehow it end up cred..

As the employer of these civil servants I demand all law enforcement personnel to wear a Global positioning device to answer my beckon call. No exceptions! Let us maximize technology to the fullest degree.

Typical Nortonmentality. they can't afford to fix their strets or plow the snow, but they spend money to snoop on every car that drives thru the city. I agree with Urban R., put money aside for lawsuits. I'd be more than happy to sue those clowns.

I thought it was illegal to randomly run plates? It was my understanding that a police officer had to have a reason. I feel this is a total invasion of our rights. Let's just put microchips in our our arms already -- that what its coming to!

Like Norton really needed that.

fire nagey and fire everyone in city hall and spend no money in the city of norton take your money elsewere stay out of norton you are not welcome here

Hmmm, lots of folks who seem to be makin' up what their rights are, as they go along today.

I like the system. Anythin' that helps law enforcement catch criminals is a good thing.

There is nothing wrong with technology in the hands of those intelligent enough to use it for its intended application. I am sure that Norton will find a way to abuse it. Norton needs more than a RoboCar, this is a deteriorating community. Both physicaly and financially. It is time for all residents to open their eyes and realize that the people that approve the money for funding for Norton have their best interest else where than within bettering the community. If Norton was a high crime area, with violent crimes, then maybe the robocar would have been a good purchase and worth the money. But to arrest a drunk driver, or someone that may have an outstanding parking ticket. I would rather have our streets fixd, I would rather use that money to find ways to bring new business into our community. I am sure we all could add to this list and justifibly so. These people are public servents, we pay their wages with our tax dollars. This is our community and we better take a better interest in it. The NPD got a very expensive toy at our expense. So ask yourself, did we really need a robocar at this time? Are we being taken granted of? With our economy, they leave little hope for a better tomorrow by wasteing our tax dollars today.

may god have mercey on the children of the future they will have no freedom to move around without fear of the police one world order now

robocop will only work when you take humans out of the picture fire all police and replace them with a real robocop I laugh when one person thinks they are better then all the rest and want to judge you the day will come when they are judged so think twice before you judge another

However, Norton and other cities in region must increase number of police cruisers on streets, in this out of control society.

To the Norton School Board. You want to know why the residents won't pass a levy. Here's a prime example. Come live in our city where we have horrible roads, Loyal Oak which looks like a run-down ghost, residents who do not care about the city's schools, but wait we have Robocar.

For once I agree with Betamax!

Most of you probably think surveillance cameras in banks are an invasion of privacy as well….or metal detectors at the airport.

This new system will only triggered the alarm if there is a "problem", warrant for arrest, plate reported stolen. etc.

This is the first, locally in Ohio and won't be the last.

This is wrong on at least 4 levels(as of now--and more will surely come to mind):
(1)it starts with serious criminals---soon you'll get pulled over and arrested for an old parking ticket or some back taxes (2)big hasssle possible for the friend or relative who happens to be driving the car of someone whose license plate matches their databade (3)they're gonna maintain a database of all the plates they run---so now the govt has a profile of everywhere you've drive and when, even tho you have not done anything wrong (4)Norton--like Akron--can't even plow its streets properly and safely. If they don't have enuf money to plow & salt the roads, they don't need to be wasting it on dubious luxuries like this

look at lowrider54 taking an anonymous swipe at a cop. WOW you are one tuff dude in your lowrider, ridiculing someone while you hide behind your penn name. I suspect that you are one pathetic person..you probably don't even own a lowrider. Maybe your neighbor does and you like his.

As for lowrider54's comments that the Feds paid for it, they may have bought the initial equipment, but it's still gonna cost more for maintenance, training, not to mention the costs of keeping and using that database.

@comando, read much?

From the article: "funded through a federal grant. There was no cost to Norton residents."

@Out of the Box, how is it an invasion of privacy? Your plate is publicly displayed.

@RightNow, the article does not actually say they are keeping a database of all scanned plates. That is a concern, but they have not stated that is the case.

If you are driving someone's car, you better know them a little better I guess. They can run plates now, so this is not a legitimate concern.

The equipment was funded by a federal grant, not local monies.

It's nice to see the norton mayor reads these comments. Thanks Gain Some Reality- oops I mean mayor. By the way I did read the article but quite frankly anything that happens in Norton has to be suspect including information from thier mayor or other SERVANATS.

This is what I really enjoy about these posts on here, 85% of the people have no clue, what they are talking about!!!! This is great technology, just ask the people that got their stolen car back in one piece. I am sure the idea of misusing it never even crossed the cops mind. This did not cost the people of Norton a penny, it will actually generate money for the city. They should be thankful that they have a police department, that "Has vision", and go the extra mile to try to make a better department. The police can run plates without a reason, so learn your laws, being on the road(driving) is a privilege, not a god given right.

Those of you that are worried about parking ticket warrants, and tax warrants. That is the real problem with this country, "No Accountability" "HELLO, PAY YOUR TAXES, AND DONT PARK ILLEGALLY, THEN FAIL TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR TICKETS".

It's a slow process to remove all your RIGHTS. That many have died for. Next will be the implanted rice size chip that fits so pretty under the skin. Oops they already have that. sorry!

I'm old enough to remember when police actually worked all night,prior to writers cramp.

Your right mischief OSP has been doing this for years. Nothing new get over it people.

Technology sometimes makes officers lazey! the officer driving Robo car is not shaking doors looking for unlocked buildings. But he will cruise the local business parkinglot running all the plates or the local motel seeing who is cheating on their wives

TheSleeve---who never breaks any law or does anything wrong---who will be the first to complain when his wife has to walk 20 miles back home because they towed the car she was driving due to an unpaid parking ticket he got.

As for gainsomereality, you surely don't think they are just gonna keep a database of "certain" plates they run...it will be all of them. Hence, people who have done nothing wrong will have all(it may only be Norton today, but how long do you think it will be until Akron & everyone else is doing it) their movements tracked to a database. While your plate may be publicly displayed, taking that info to a database when you have not done anything illegal is an invasion of privacy.

To the Sleeve -- glad to read you are so perfect.

To Right on -- I could not agree with you more. And to Retired Cop's Wife -- you are so right!!!!!

I can think of a million other things the city of Norton needs besides this Robocar....typical of Norton with their Christian right mentality....how about fixing up the city, the roads, building a rec center for all the families, how about city water to bring more business to promote some growth and help the run down school buildings....yeah the only crime in Norton is basically drunk drivers and domestic violence....sell the Robocar to Akron or Cleveland...they could use it more!!

First of all why Norton? If you must put this rolling constitution wrecker onto the streets put it where it would do the most good.

As for those bashing our Liberty's: We do (or did) have the right to freedom of movement in this country. Apparently the assumption is now that the cars owner is the only person that drives it.

It should be fun to see the results of the plate scans at the local motels. When the wrong plate is scanned and the media finds out the car will get parked

In fact, They are set up along some highways reading plates and alerting officers to stolen cars and felony warrants. Many criminals have been put away because of this technology. What if an amber alert was set up, a plate attached to the alert and this technology spotted the car? Would you people be praising this technology or demanding it be scrapped?

As has been explained a few times already, this was a federal grant. This grant came from the U.S. Department of Justice, and has a specific purpose. This grant money cannot be used to fix Norton roads, schools, community center, or any other idea that has been thrown out. Sometime at the start of the 2008 calender year, a higher up in the Norton Police department sent a grant request into the federal government. In that grant request they laid out specific plans as to how the money they were requesting would be spent. The city of Norton cannot turn around and use that money in another purpose. That money has to be used by law enforcement for the purpose that was laid out in their grant request. It is pretty simple and straight forward. It cant be used however the city sees fit, it must be used by the police department.

As for the person stating it is illegal to run plates. Not true at all. I can run through a hotel parking lot and run every plate in the lot if i had the time. Long as I am not profiling, I have every right to run your plate and everyone else in the lot. You give up certain rights of privacy once you pull out into the road and enter a public roadway.

BTW, it has happened. This is not big brother. THe police can run your plate for any reason under the sun. If you have nothing to hide, then don't worry about it. If you have warrants or are driving a stolen car then you are hit. Sorry.

To Out of the Box, who says "I thought it was illegal to randomly run plates? It was my understanding that a police officer had to have a reason. I feel this is a total invasion of our rights. Let's just put microchips in our our arms already -- that what its coming to!"
The Supreme Court of teh U.S. says that vehicles plates have no expectation of privacy. A cop can run any plate on his MDT that he wants. This is a good thing and other departments will follow with this technology.

Nadine -- you are so right. I used to live in Norton and the government is a joke -- but don't worry they are collecting plent of money from DUI's and speeders. That's the real crimes out there!

@RightNow, I have no reason to believe they are going to keep a database at all. As for as I know they are running the plates against a databases that already has wanted vehicles. They have said nothing about inventorying every car they pass in Norton. The only reason the article even goes down that road is the ACLU wants to make sure it does not happen.

Some of the major cities have already been using this technology for years. And it is not just the police in these cities, the parking patrols are using to locate vehicles in violation so they can boot the tires.

Hey Federal grants fund the Sobriety check points and dui and seat belt enforcement. It also means when you accept the money you comply with federal enforcement guidelines and you do as your told by the feds or you dont get anymore funds. It is one more step towards the police State. You are INNOCENT until prooven guilty.

It will definately be an improvement. It might help Sgt Nagy be a better cop.

If you do not like cops, or anybody else, recording your license plates, take them off of your vehicle!!! Duh!! See how far you get.

Better yet, stop driving a car, you do not need a license plate to walk or use a bicycle.

Bicycles are vehicles and are entitled to every right to the road except for most limited access highways. They use less fuel (it still takes fossil fuels to make and ship bicycles, and send the food to your stores that fuels you) and are versatile machines that can transport you in all weather on and off road.

I don't get all the fuss. This is a great idea. As long as you don't have any warrants, there's nothing to worry about right? The benefits of having a car like this FAR outweigh any negative.

Anything that makes it easier for a police officer to read plates is fine by me, especially if it results in more arrests for people who may otherwise drive by an officer without so much as a passing glance.

actually, eross, I know someone who got a ticket last summer for not having a (bicycle)lisense, and for riding his bicycle in the street in Akron.

what is the difference between this and the officer typing in the plate on his computer hiself? I dont see one. Are you guys upset because all the plates around the cruiser are run and not just a few. You need to know that if you are in front of or around a cop, your plate was just run.

Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when Robo comes for you...

daniel - you are completely right. If a policeman is behind you, chances are by the time you notice him he's already got your plate run. This is such a great tool and only saves time typing the plate into the system. It's funny how people complain about stuff like this until THEIR car gets stolen & then they are mad b/c the police can't find it. This is nothing but a great addition to the department.

Scary stuff. It's not the running of a license plate that people object to, it's the comprehensive stored data of where their car is whenever the plate is run-that's the invasion of privacy. Delete the info after the plate's run.

I also thought you had to have "just cause" to run a plate? Fishing was against the law...

Now will the police be under the texting law with all this computer stuff in car? Can he safely drive while monitoring the radio, computer and now the license scanner? When you the "citizen" will be busted for just talking on a cell phone?

I live in Norton and have been robbed 3 times. How about patroling our areas, show some presence so we dont get robbed again.

You wonder why people wanted to vote out the police department. You can be robocop but if ya do nothing while on patrol crime still goes on.

soon you will need the mark of the beast to live or go through norton god bless america

David- It is completely legal for an officer to run your plate. It is being proactive and not re-active. You seem to want the officer to do nothing until he or she is called, which by then is too late. I'm sure there are many lazy cops out there that love your idea that they can't be on the radio and computer and drive.

Some of you people are freaking paranoid and completely ignorant. The point of developing new and better technology is to USE IT. If you are a innocent civilian you have nothing to fear. Some of the posters on here obviously don't realize that their privacy is much more easily invaded everytime they log onto a computer than when they drive a car and their plate is checked. DUH! Some of you need to move to a third world country where technology is limited and you can live like the cave men did.

Mischief & APB4 are absolutely correct, there is Supreme Court case law stating running a license plate is not an invasion of privacy- officers still need probable cause to initiate the stop.

The plate reader is proactive & can interrupt crime before it occurs by automatically alerting officers if a degenerate is casing your home, the neighborhood or a local school.

The database (which periodically purges itself of the collected date by the way) will also work to help solve crimes initially missed by officers because they can go back & check to see vehicles in the area when the crime occured.

People stopped for driving the vehicle of a "wanted person" would be released once determined they were just in the perps car.
Perhaps those people should be more concerned with who they associate with versus complaining about cops stopping them! Oh, but that might require personal accountability!

If this device stops a sexual predator or other psycho from a child abduction or homicide would you whiners still be complaining?

For Freebird complaining about streets?! This device cost the community zip-nada!! Stop being part of the flipping problem & start being part of the solution you knucklehead! If you want your streets fixed get off your keester & organize the neighbors to support a road use levy instead of complainingabout what you want for nothing at the expense of public safety!

Since robocar takes pictures of your plate, just nake sure your plate ins't legible, cover it with mud. Running peoples plates at random, that would fall under probable cause and due process. As I said before, Norton will find a way to abuse it.

@Freebird44126, Courts have already ruled on random plate checks and it does not require probably cause because they are publicly displayed. And you can be ticketed for covering your plate if it is sitting on a public road or property.

For anyone who cares a recent case dealing with this very issue is called United States v. Curtis Ellison.

In a 2-1 decision in September 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled in United States v. Curtis Ellison that random plate checks are not an unconstitutional invasion of privacy and that "so long as the officer had a right to be in a position to observe the defendant's license plate, any such observation and corresponding use of the information on the plate does not violate the Fourth Amendment." Ellison appealed the decision, but last October the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case, letting the appeals' decision stand as the current law of the land.

As I said before, Norton has one of the lowest crime rates of any city in Ohio. No violent crime. The purchase of this car was a waste of time and money. How much does it cost for upkeep and service? We all know that isn't free. I guess the biggest thing to remember is anything that the Norton PD says is either exaggerated or fabricated. I think that was proven in their most recent lawsuit in which they had to pay big bucks. I would be willing to bet it won't be their last They said look at the revenue that it can bring to the city. That revenue will be coming from you and all of the other citizens of Norton. So yes, it was a great idea in this time in economy. Lets try to find a way to keep taking from the citizens who make your jobs and pay checks possible. To receive a federal grant for this vehicle, I wonder how much they exaggerated that it was a necessity to make our city safe? Cleveland, Akron, Cincinatti, Dayton, I am sure they could have used this vehicle and justifibly so. But Norton? Come on, do we need a robocar to catch the gumball bandit?

Freebird its a computer system not a police car. It costs the same for upkeep and service as any other car the Norton police department drives around everyday. The system is just another computer in the police car, it is not an entire new car. There is no added costs for upkeep.

As far as revenue, the car will be collecting fines and tickets that are already owed to the city. And if you are worried about paying more fines, then keep your license up to date, take care of your warrants, and dont drive suspended. Its called having some personal responsibility. The only people worried about the city collecting more revenue should be the ones who drive around without a license, have warrants, driving a stolen car, etc... If you have none of these then you have no issues.

Everything this piece of equipment does can be done by a normal officer on a regular shift. I can run plates all day long looking for suspended drivers, stolen cars, and warrants, that is perfectly legal and has been proven in court. This new piece of equipment does the same thing only at an accelerated rate. This is the wave of the future, and regular law abiding citizens will have no issues. 95% of the citizens of this country will see no change with this equipment. It is that 5% who drive around suspended, dont pay their tickets or fines, drive around in stolen cars, or have outstanding warrants who will have issues with this. And as far as im concerned I would want my local police department taking care of those people and getting them off the road.

@ Freebird44216 Sounds more like you have a personal axe to grind with Norton PD over something.

The system alerts officers of stolen vehicles, felony & misdemeanor warrants. Norton may have a low crime rate, but no community is exempt from criminal activity!

If anything this device motivates criminals to avoid Norton, thereby making it an even safer community in which to live.

@Freebird44216, again you prove your lack of knowledge in an area you decide to tell everyone what is going on. You state Norton has "no violent crime". The stats do not support it. See: http://www.cityofnorton.org/Departments/Police%20Department/POLICEdeptStatisticsandEmployees.htm

Maybe if you leave your parent's computer room and go outside, or take off the rosy color glasses, you will experience the real world.