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Sheriff doesn’t want to use license plate scanners

License plate scanners, similar to the ones used on the Turnpike, are a hot issue in Ottawa County.

OTTAWA COUNTY, OH (Toledo News Now) - License plate scanners, similar to the ones used on the Turnpike, are a hot issue in Ottawa County.

There is only one cruiser in the county with license plate readers, but now the sheriff wants to do away with them.

The scanners sit on the trunk of the car. One faces the front, the other, the back. They scan license plates as cars drive by.

"They're used to help track stolen cars and people with warrants," explained Sheriff Stephen Levorchick. "It's not like we get a stolen car from it every day. It's not like we get people with warrants that are identified with the license plate readers every single day."

The sheriff's office started using the scanners in 2012. Sheriff Levorchick says he doesn't want to downplay the crime in Ottawa County, but says the issue he has with the scanners is where the information goes. He says he's been told it's sent to the federal government, but on Tuesday, he talked to a member of the Ohio Homeland Security.

"From what I've been told, that information stays right here in northwest Ohio, and it's to be used by law enforcement in northwest Ohio, and it's not being shared with the federal government," he said.

The sheriff says after he finds out exactly where the information from the scanners goes, he will decide whether or not to use them.

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