MAHONING COUNTY, Ohio- Local police departments are adding new technology to their vehicles that is paid for by the United States Department of Homeland Security.

Police vehicles are being equipped with license plate readers that can process more than 1,000 plates per hour.

Lieutenant Tom Collins of the Austintown police department said the readers, which take the form of cameras mounted inside the cruisers, help to match license plates with a database listing vehicles involved in crimes.

"There may be a series of four or five cars and I'm trying to read each plate. Well, obviously the computer will read it faster, process it faster," Collins said.

He said so far, the department has been able to read up to 300 plates in 15 minutes.

Warren officer Geoffrey Fusco said the cameras help them to gather information for investigations, as well.

"Now, later on, if we have a shooting there, we can go back to the vehicles and look up what plates were there, run the plates, now we have witnesses and possibly the shooter," Fusco said.