The California Department of General Services, the state’s business manager, has awarded a contract for automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) technology to PCS Mobile, a U.S. subsidiary of Toronto-based Route1 Inc. Among the takeaways:
• This could be a noteworthy step for California law enforcement. The contract is for three years, Route1 said in a news release, with seven one-year renewal options on the part of the state. It will provide law enforcement officers a “state-of-the-art” ALPR system “that “will enhance officer safety and significantly improve operations,” Route1 said. Under the contract terms, PCS Mobile will work with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) on an ALPR solution that police statewide can utilize, which includes equipment, training and ongoing support. It’s unclear whether this contract replaces another that is ending, but a 2019 state audit of ALPR technology made clear CHP already uses it.
• Route1’s ALPR “system partner” for this contract is Genetec, which produces the AutoVu ALPR system, it said, indicating the two companies have worked together for more than five years. The partners tested their technology with the state and the CHP over four days in West Sacramento, demonstrating its ability to read license plates at speeds of more than 100 mph; do daytime and nighttime data capture; and AutoVu’s ability to “quickly and correctly” identify vehicles. It captured license plates more than 97 percent of the time, a company representative told Techwire via email. Ultimately, Route1 won the contract “based on compliance to solicitation requirements and low cost,” the company said. The contract value was unavailable; Techwire may update this article if new information becomes available.
• Genetec’s Security Center technology, Route1 said, lets government quickly access and share “critical data and analytics” with officers and law enforcement partners – but it’s not shared with third-party agencies without “explicit permission” from CHP, and is never sold. Route1 is one of “only a handful of Genetec partners that could successfully meet the state of California’s demanding specifications and business requirements,” the company representative told Techwire via email.
• The contract may reflect the reality that the state will continue to need to sustain existing or essential technology capabilities – in this case, ALPR. That’s relatively good news in the current economic climate. Per the state Constitution, lawmakers have to approve a budget by June 15 – and confront a projected $54.3 billion shortfall due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Gov tech may absorb some of the expected cuts, but in conversations with Techwire, current and former government officials have indicated technology and innovation projects could still move forward, provided they’re mission-critical – and the current economic climate could wind up being a catalyst for IT.
