On behalf of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, the Police Services Division is responsible for superintending policing and law enforcement functions in British Columbia.

The primary responsibilities of Police Services Division are to:

• ensure central oversight of all policing;
• administer policing policy;
• oversee the funding and organization of provincial and municipal RCMP police forces through contracts;
• collect, monitor and report on provincial crime and police data;
• conduct research, provide analysis and interpretation of provincial crime data; and
• ensure adequate and effective levels of policing enforcement throughout British Columbia on behalf of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

Automatic Licence Plate Recognition Program
B.C. is the first province in Canada to use a new crime-fighting technology - the Automatic Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR) — to specifically target both traffic violators and stolen vehicles using ICBC data.

ALPR is a camera and computer database system mounted in police cars to capture images of licence plates on vehicles on public highways. The ALPR system reads the licence plate and instantly compares it against the data base in the onboard computer, alerting the officers in the patrol car of violators. The data base includes information associated with stolen vehicles and uninsured, unlicensed and prohibited drivers.

Air One, B.C.'s first dedicated, fully equipped traffic safety helicopter, will play a significant role in the apprehension of violators identified by ALPR. Air One can carry out air surveillance and track the vehicle to a safe location where ground units can apprehend.

LINKS:
News Release
Audio Clips - Interviews
Video Demonstration of ALPR (posted on www.baitcar.com)