The first states to install automatic license plate readers have announced plans to use them.
In Oregon, the state Transportation Department said it has approved the installation of 3,000 license plate reader cameras in a pilot program, beginning in January.
The cameras will be in use in January, and the cameras will cover nearly one-third of the state’s license plate collection, according to a press release from the state.
The move is in response to a court order that said Oregon must install cameras on nearly 200,000 vehicles, a decision that prompted Gov.
Kate Brown to order state agencies to begin testing the technology, which can capture and analyze license plate data, in January 2015.
The state said it had installed 4,000 cameras in 2017 and had begun collecting data by January 2018.
The first trial was conducted by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
Oregon has about 1.8 million license plates, and only 4.7 million of them are scanned, according a January report by the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
About 85 percent of Oregon’s license plates are stolen.