KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Kissimmee Police Department announced on Monday that it was the first police agency to test a new mobile technology that detects vehicle speed and has automated license plate recognition.
Police said they tested ekin Technology's ekin Patrol last week, which is described as "the first truly intelligent patrol unit in the world."
"Ekin Patrol" is specifically designed for use by police forces and responders. According to a news release, the system capabilities include:
- Speed detection of every vehicle, as well as the average speed in the traffic with all related number plates
- Violation records created instantly
- Automated license plate recognition for moving, stopped or parked vehicles, which also stores the data
- Measuring traffic density and violation data
- Face recognition
"I think it's the best thing they could possibly do," said driver Ashley Martinez. "There are so many crazy drivers here in Florida."
She thinks the cameras could take the "crazy" down a notch.
"I feel like teenagers don't realize the consequence of driving crazy -- the car accidents and the things they can cause from that," she said.
"There's part of me that says it's for safety sake," said driver Lee Steht. "The other part seems a little excessive."
For example, what if you're caught speeding while trying to pass another driver?
"A lot of that is taken away from (police officer's) judgment call at their work. So automatically I'm caught for some random reason, where a legitimate speeder or lawbreaker really should be paying that price?"
ekin Technology provides various city and traffic intelligence, surveillance and security needs worldwide.
Their patrol product is only being tested by police agencies right now. No roll-out date has been announced.