Have You Wondered What These Cameras Are in The Lake Area?

This question was brought up in a Facebook group the other day. What in the world are these random cameras all over Lake Charles, Moss Bluff, and the surrounding areas? We see them everywhere: telephone poles, light poles, even some stoplights. It's certainly not something we might notice all of the time, but since seeing this post the other day I see them often now. Exactly what are they?

Facebook was full of "answers" of course, but the consensus was that they have been put there for a good reason. That reason? Auto theft and a part of the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Real Time Crime Center. I have to be honest, we could have come up with a way cooler name Uncle Tony! Nevertheless, I ran across an article that KPLC published back in 2019. It discussed what the RTCC was and how it was being implemented. Honestly, it sounds like something out of CSI and certainly not expected around here in SWLA. Mancuso mentions these "cameras" that are set up all around the area. Although sort of correct, they aren't a camera that is recording as one would think. Mancuso told KPLC that they are license plate scanners that specifically help the Crime Center look for and track vehicles that they could possibly be looking for. This is also helpful when it comes to stolen vehicles in the area. The scanners can look for that specific plate of the stolen vehicle, and relay that information back to the Crime Center.

At the time of the article, Mancuso told KPLC that they were able to recover 44 stolen vehicles in 2019 thanks to the system.

There you have it. Some will believe that it's the government trying to track you and follow you around. My answer to that is that no one is tracking you while you go to the Circle K at 11pm to get beef jerky, a mountain dew, and menthols, Carl.