Penn Township approves plate reader cameras for new traffic signal
PENN TWP — Township supervisors accepted a proposal from PlateSmart Technologies to supply a license plate reader camera for the new traffic signal under construction at Route 8 and Airport Road.
The township will enter into a three-year contract with PlateSmart to provide the cameras and associated plate-reading software at a cost of $16,194.
A license plate reader captures license plate information from passing cars, forwarding that information to police departments whenever necessary to aid them with investigations.
“The system will facilitate investigations into stolen property, accident reconstruction, and Amber Alerts,” said township Supervisor Samuel Ward. “They had a case of road rage last year that they were able to track using the cameras at Litman Road.”
This would not be the first time that Penn Township has installed a license plate reader. One is already in place at Dinnerbell Road and Route 8, and Ward said the township is glad to have it.
“It’s a very useful tool for the police officer,” Ward said.
During the monthly meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 14, Penn Township police Sgt. Cheryl Cranmer touted the benefits of the license plate reader.
However, Ward said that Penn Township will not use the license plate reader to catch people running red lights. By law, only first-class cities, or those with a population greater than 20,000, in Pennsylvania are allowed to use automated red light enforcement systems, otherwise known as red light cameras.
Penn Township has a population of 4,987 as of the 2020 census.
For now, only a limited number of municipalities in Pennsylvania are running red light cameras, with the vast majority of cameras located in Philadelphia. In September 2024, Pittsburgh’s city council unanimously approved the use of red light cameras.
“We’re not permitted to have that kind of function. Most municipalities in Pennsylvania aren’t,” Ward said. “Pittsburgh’s trying to use that, but most municipalities are not permitted to use that.”
Ward says he doesn’t have an estimate time of installation for the cameras yet.
