Richmond City Council approved a request from Police Chief Scott Bagley for the purchase of license plate recognition (LPRs) cameras. The chief explained he applied for grant monies to fund the cameras, which would be placed on streetlights in the town. LPRs are commonly used in a wide variety of police activities, including: • Real-time crime investigations ranging from murders and abductions to drug and human trafficking and burglaries. • Historic investigations, such as identifying other locations where the suspicious license plate was captured. • Traffic violation detection and management, such as speed enforcement and road warnings. “A goal of mine has been to apply for grants for equipment and starting programs. One was the Local Violent Crime Grant which allocates up to a $25,000 grant for equipment. One of the requirements – the equipment must lower crime,” said Bagley. “Other communities around us have been using LPRs and I’ve reached out to bidders about them for…