Coronado Police Have Your [License Plate] Number

Next time you visit the city of Coronado, be advised. The Police Department now has "a new high-tech device that will give Coronado Police officers the ability to scan license plates on parked or moving vehicles and immediately be alerted if they are stolen or wanted in connection with a crime," according to a story on ecoronado.com.

Called the Automated License Plate Reader,the hi-tech device has recently been placed on the roof of one Coronado Police car. When the cop car is driven around, the License Plate Reader scans thousands of car licenses per hour and then runs the data through several law enforcement internet databases.

ecoronado.com said that "Coronado paid for the License Plate Reader through a $30,000 grant from the Urban Area Security Initiative Program funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Coronado Police Chief Lou Scanlon believes "this system will enhance our ability to protect the public."