Newark Police Scanning License Plates To Crack Down On Car Thefts

NEWARK, NJ — Newark police launched a new car theft crackdown last weekend, making five arrests to kick off the campaign, authorities said.

As part of the new operation, police have placed fixed, automatic license plate recognition scanners in areas of the city that have a “concentration of stolen cars,” according to a statement from the Newark Department of Public Safety.

The devices are capable of reading license plates, and are monitored by police personnel in “real time,” who try to track the stolen vehicles and arrest the occupants once they stop, Newark Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara said.

“This is a new initiative aimed at cracking down on the increase in auto thefts the entire state is facing,” O’Hara said.

According to police, the technology was used on Saturday night, when four juveniles and one adult were arrested in a vehicle reported stolen earlier that day from Madison.

Newark police provided the following statement about the incident:

“The 16-year-old juveniles from Newark and Ahmir Felder, 21, of East Orange were taken into custody after officers spotted them in a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee around 9:25 p.m. at Clinton Avenue and Monmouth Street ... Two of the juveniles were charged with receiving stolen property; the other two young people and Felder received joyriding charges.”

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