(Radio Iowa) – The Marshalltown city council has approved the purchase cameras that will scan license plates. Police Chief Mike Tupper says the cameras will help his department. “That’s one of the advantages to these cameras, because if we’re looking for stolen car we’re looking for a wanted person that information is always attached to the license plate, so we get that instantaneous hit on something if again the car is stolen or somebody’s wanted,” Tupper says. Chief Tupper says officers will be able to react if the cameras identify a stolen car or someone with a warrant.

“Our police officers in the field would receive immediate notification that your car is at whatever intersection,” he says, “and so if somebody was closely my head over that way to try to find you.” The money used to pay for the cameras is coming from the revenue received from the speed cameras that were put up earlier this year.