U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) will be in Great Bend Monday afternoon to announce federal resources for the Great Bend Police Department to help in the purchase of license plate recognition technology and cameras. The event is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. at the Great Bend Events Center, 3111 10th St. 

The public is invited to attend.

As the lead Republican on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, Moran helped secure the GBPD funding.

“As an enforcement tool, it is an enforcement multiplier,” Great Bend Police Chief Steve Haulmark said. He said they are already planning on the purchase a few of the cameras and equipment using money from the Special Law Enforcement Trust Fund, made up of seized assets. 

“The funds to be announced Monday will be huge,” he said, noting he could not divulge what the total was. “They will help us grow that project and sustain that project.”

And, “there will be no cost to the taxpayer,” he said.

What does this do?

In a nutshell, the system snaps pictures of license plates as vehicles pass, as well as pictures of the vehicles themselves. While they could be viewed in real-time, they are also stored in a searchable database, Haulmark said.

They can search by make, model and color of a vehicle, and even specify if there is damage. They can also search by plate number, partial plate number and state.

This will help spot cars and trucks suspected to be involved in crimes, help in Amber Alert and Silver Alert situations, and in other cases. 

As an example, Haulmark said 10,000 cars drive down 10th Street every day. This will help ease that needle-in-a-haystack search.

The units already in the works will be fixed cameras and should be up and working within a couple of months. 

The money announced Monday would be available until later in the year. These units could be fixed or mobile and mounted in a patrol car.