Out in the land where the automobile is King (you know weÕre talking about California, right?), the LA County SheriffÕs Department has begun field testing a license plate scanning device called the Mobile Plate Hunter 900. Apparently in just one night of use (which is based on the Italian post officeÕs character recognition systems) the device was able to accurately scan over 12,000 license platesÑwhich resulted in seven stolen car recoveries, and helped the po-po in making three arrests (including two parolees who showed up at a parol officerÕs joint in a stolen hooptie). Car thieves privacy advocates, start your engines!
