New crime fighting weapon hits Albany

Motorists be warned – WA Police’s next weapon in the fight against motoring crime visited Albany and surrounds as part of its regional tour of the South West and Great Southern last week.

The concept advanced traffic management vehicle visited stations at Katanning, Narrogin, Denmark, Mt Barker and Albany where officers conducted test patrols in the state-of-the-art car.

“It’s a fantastic piece of kit,” Great Southern Traffic Sergeant Peter May said.

“It far exceeds anything we’ve got at the moment, purely in that it allows the driver and passenger to have their heads up at all times.”

The Holden Commodore SV6 is fitted out with an integrated electronic and computer system, allowing officers to collect and interpret data provided by four roof-mounted cameras more efficiently, without taking their eyes off the road.

Audio alerts and a talking computer also inform officers of vehicle registrations without having to manually input information as is the current practice.

Sgt May said the car was well-received by all the officers who tested it and if adopted, would greatly improve road policing capabilities.

“In four days we monitored 6002 cars just by driving around, coming up with 147 alerts for vehicles and persons of interest,” he said.

josh.nyman@albanyadvertiser.com