WA Police are testing high-tech motorcycles fitted with speed radars, video cameras and numberplate recognition technology.

Supt Lance Martin revealed yesterday that police were testing the motorcycles, which have the same technology as prototype traffic cars that are getting a 12-month trial.

The motorcycles have radar at the front to monitor passing motorists and allow speeders to be booked.

They also have a video camera that films when the rider engages the lights and sirens to provide evidence of traffic stops.

Two numberplate recognition systems on each motorcycle can scan hundreds of vehicles an hour.

An alert sounds in the officer's helmet when it spots an unlicensed vehicle or one whose registered owner does not have a driver's licence or has outstanding warrants.

Over the past five years, WA Police has increasingly looked to ICT as a way to work smarter, safer and more productively. With Telstra's Next IP® and Next G® networks providing the connectivity, Police recently launched two key innovations: the Concept Car, which has increased the number of police inquiries from 300 to 10,000 per car per day; and the Forensics Solutions, which enables forensics investigators in the field to examine and match finger print information collected at the scene in minutes rather than days.

A new era of technology will hit the roads later this year, with the introduction of 48 new police cars which can scan up to 1200 number plates an hour.

This will be a dramatic increase from the current 250 or 300 a day that police currently scan, allowing police to identify stolen cars, unlicensed drivers and provide other information that could help police carry out their jobs more efficiently.

This was one of the projects that have attracted funding in the 2012-13 Road Trauma Trust Account.

Road Safety Minister Rob Johnson detailed what $87.7 million worth of funding would be spent on.

As well as the concept cars, the funding will include two concept motorcycles to be trialled, upgrades to roads, expanded breath and drug testing, 20 additional police officers and extra police hours.

Money will also be spent on community education to reduce drink and drug driving, additional school crossing zone lights, a study of motorcycle crashes and roadside crash barriers as well as community initiatives such as establishing a road trauma support service, neurotrauma research, local government programs and school education programs.

LAPD Tests Next-Generation Patrol Car

The Los Angeles Police Department's "smart car" concept for its next patrol cruiser may not be able to outmaneuver the Batmobile, yet it's loaded with enough high-tech features to catch plenty of non-comic book crooks.

The department started with a prototype Chevrolet Caprice PPV with its 6.0-liter, V-8 engine that delivers 355 hp to take the vehicle from 0-60 mph in six seconds. A factory backup battery helps keep the cruiser and all its technological gear running.

An infrared night vision camera on the front of the vehicle can detect suspects hiding in a bush or behind an object and display them on a 10- to 12-inch touch-screen monitor mounted in the vehicle's dashboard.

The integrated screen replaces articulating-mount laptops, and allows an officer to control lights, sirens, Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) scanners, and other gear.

The LAPD's got a new ride, the Chevrolet Caprice PPV. The car has a 355 hp and 384 foot-pounds of torque engine. But this isn't just some Ford Crown Vic LEE with a fancy new body kit; this cruiser is packed with cutting-edge technology.

The front of the vehicle is equipped with a Forward looking infrared (FLIR) camera that can track the the heat signature of a fleeing suspect's footprints. The ALPR (Automatic License Plate Recognition) system will automatically alert officers as stolen cars drive by.

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Superintendent Lance Martin takes an opportunity to show LAPD Officers Lieutenant Dan Gonzalez and Sergeant Dan Gomez the WA Police concept car.

The two officers from LAPD's Tactical Technology Section visited with WAPOL to evaluate the high tech police vehicle.

Los Angeles police officers have travelled to Perth to assess the technology of a new WA Police concept car that they hope to use to combat the US city's notorious gangs and high crime rate.

Two senior LAPD officers have this week analysed the car's technology, particularly its roof-mounted automatic numberplate recognition system which can scan 1200 vehicle numberplates an hour.

Lt Daniel Gonzalez said the LAPD used similar technology to find serial killers, terrorists and gang members and were interested in the concept car's version.

WA Police have asked the State Government for funding to buy 48 of the cars, which can scan six million numberplates a week to catch car thieves, unlicensed drivers, arsonists and murderers.

Representatives from the Los Angeles Police are in Perth investigating the WA Police-designed Concept car.

The LAPD is recognised across the US as an innovative leader in policing technology and two officers attached to the LAPD's Tactical Technology Section are visiting Perth to evaluate the high-tech police vehicle.

WA Police say the Concept car - an Advanced Traffic Management Vehicle - has been continuously improved over the past 12 months with the addition or enhancement of automated number plate recognition and four cameras capable of simultaneous operation and with collected data streamed over Next G connection.

This technology enables analysis of GPS plotted intelligence data to identify information such as repeat offenders, offence hot spots and offence time trends.

The vehicle has been used extensively for operational trials over the past 12 months.

The LAPD officers in WA reviewing the Concept car Lieut. Dan Gonzalez and Sgt II Dan Gomez are among almost 10,000 Los Angeles Police who serve a population of about four million people.

Article Courtesy of http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/13217616/la-police-reviewi%20ng-wa-concept-car/

The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials Australasia conference gives vendors a chance to show off the latest and greatest tech for keeping the public safe and dealing with emergency situations. ZDNet Australia took a sneak peak at some of the tech on show.

The ninth annual conference was held on the Gold Coast. The event brings various police and emergency service agencies together with telecommunications providers and network vendors, such as Motorola, Telstra, Optus, Tait and Airwave.

The Western Australian Police Holden SV6 concept car has been on the road since early 2011.

Inside, the concept car is equipped with automatic number-plate recognition, access to the WA Police database, fingerprint and facial recognition and in-car video cameras. While a normal car can process between 200 to 300 inquiries per day, the WA Police estimates that this car can process 1000.

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