CRANBERRY TWP — Thanks to a grant from the Pennsylvania State Police, township police have an extra set of eyes on the road to catch stolen vehicles and expired registrations.

The police department recently received an Automated License Plate Reader, or ALPR, system to detect expired vehicle registrations, suspended registrations and stolen vehicles, said Sgt. William Ahlgren, of Cranberry Township Police. They are the only police force in the county to have such a system, he said.

The ALPR system has two car-mounted cameras that read license plates from passing cars as officers patrol the streets, allowing the police officers to keep their attention to the road.

“It allows police officers to pay more attention to the road and their environment because they're not focused on stickers from license plates,” Ahlgren said.

It will also help officers find expired registrations after the state this year stopped issuing new vehicle registration stickers. Because the color of the stickers was different each year, it was a quick visual indicator to police officers if a car was in compliance, Ahlgren said.

Read more in Sunday's edition of the Butler Eagle.