Hey Snipe - this something you use?
 

Saw this guy at the grocery store yesterday. He was acting very odd...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1278960160.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1278960176.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1278960190.jpg

Out of general curiosity/nosiness I asked what they were. He said "surveillance" then said I was in his way with respect to a truck he was after. What do these do?

Record license plate numbers as he cruises the lanes in the lot?

But he wasn't a cop, how would he know what was stolen?

Looks like an optical scanner. Could be looking for expired inspection, tags, parking violations, specific tag numbers, anything.

PPA uses them here to find people who owe parking tickets by randomly driving throughout residential neighborhoods, then boots your car if you do.

Maybe a google maps mapping vehicle?

That's an undercover cop scanning for stolen cars via the plate. It's common to ditch them in dense parking lots after the joy ride.

Doesn't look so undercover to me.

hahahaha. the corolla is nice camo.

i googled that part #..scary. it is a plate scanner.

I think the PPD are using them too.

ALPR

YouTube - ALPR - Automatic License Plate Recon

That looks like this:

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:z...all_money2.jpg

I've heard of repo men using them... That guy finds the car... Then his buddy comes in with the stinger and nabs the car... There was an article about it in PopSci a few years back...

The "OH BABY" license frame is very undercover...

You see these a lot in the UK, especially London.

Googled the part #?? That is scary!

Here it is:

http://www.vigilantvideo.com/Product%20Data%20Sheets/C%20Series%20PDS.pdf

He's parked with a car on his right, a range of 16' with that model and he's looking for a truck out the left one? WTF?

My brother-in-law got nabbed in miami for an old warrant from a ticket he forgot about......and was nabbed by a county sherif rolling through the hotel parking lot using one of these, so it's not just for stolen cars, its for warrants on the registered owner of the plate......

In your way ,huh.....I'd like to have a couple of those; I'd send 'em to Snipe for his new pad.... how long was he in the grocery store, just kidding, maybe, a little, F that guy there mineLOL

A new reality show...."Trolling for Dollars"......