New technology that uses computers to check car license plates with federal, state and local law enforcement databases will be coming to Laguna Beach.
The City Council on Tuesday accepted a federal grant for two license plate readers, which are capable of connecting the plates with data on stolen vehicles, drivers with arrest warrants — even unpaid parking tickets.
Two of the readers are being offered to each municipal police department in Orange County.
"Right now, officers who drive around have to manually enter plates in their computers," said Police Chief Paul Workman. "I compare that to text messaging, and I have a safety concerns. So I am kind of excited to see these systems made available, and I favor accepting them."