BEIJING, Mar. 30 -- Thirty new high-tech police cars and 170 motorcycles began patrolling city streets yesterday, providing local lawmen with better ammunition to track down traffic violators.

    The new additions are the city's first-ever batch of police vehicles whose styles are in exact accordance with national police facility standards - including size and symbols.

    The city spent about 16 million yuan (US$1.93 million) on the new vehicles and expects them to improve the level of policing in solving traffic congestion and in cracking down on street violations.

    The 30 new four wheelers, also known as the "electronic patrol cars," are equipped with a radar speedometer and a powerful camera connected to a computer system inside the vehicle.

    The camera can shoot pictures or take videos from any angle and swerve as rapidly as 100 degrees per second.

    The agile camera, together with the radar speedometer, will work automatically in shooting various images of traffic infractions, such as speeding and illegally cutting lanes. The images could provide vivid clues to support future punishment of drivers.

    The vehicles also carry an automatic car plate identification system. After shooting pictures of a vehicle, the computer will compare its plate number to its database containing reported stolen and illegal cars. The function is expected to assist police in catching hit-and-run drivers and illegal vehicles.

    All pictures taken are then stored on a computer disk and turned in to the police headquarters at the end of a shift.

    Police said the new vehicles would mainly be used in downtown areas, such as Huangpu and Luwan districts where there is heavy traffic.

    Police expect the equipment will become a powerful assistant to the 6,000-plus traffic officers dealing with traffic jams.

    Old police vehicles will gradually be refitted to meet the uniformed national style in future. Police said the city is one of several pioneers in the country that have adopted such high-tech equipment in patrol cars.

(Source:  Shanghai Daily)