License plate cameras coming to Betsy Ross, Ben Franklin, Walt Whitman, and Commodore Barry bridges

High-speed digital cameras that capture images of vehicle license plates are coming later this year to the four Delaware River Port Authority bridges linking New Jersey and Pennsylvania, officials said.

Those spans already capture the tags of toll-evading drivers, but the new cameras are intended instead to help law enforcement track cars connected to suspected crimes or Homeland Security investigations.

DRPA board members voted last month to allow the New Jersey State Police to install and operate automatic license-plate readers on the Betsy Ross, Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman and Commodore Barry Bridges under a 10-year agreement.

The readers will cover both eastbound and westbound lanes, authority spokesperson Mike Williams said. Officials declined to discuss exactly where they will be placed.

KYW Newsradio first reported the move on Monday.

Use of automatic license plate readers is spreading rapidly. They’re mounted on police cars, road signs, bridges and other structures and are capable of capturing thousands of plates, the date and time within about a minute.

The information enables officers to match license plate data against “hot” lists of vehicles reported stolen or wanted in connection with a criminal investigation. Information typically is stored in a database accessible by the law enforcement agencies in a region, as well as with Homeland Security.

Civil rights organizations have expressed privacy concerns about how the data is stored and used, as regulations are somewhat unclear.

Last year, New Jersey was awarded $10 million in federal pandemic relief funds to 34 law enforcement agencies for license-plate readers, including about $3 million for the State Police. The program began with four law enforcement agencies in 2022, in response to a surge in auto thefts.