Manassas seeks federal aid to help combat vehicle theft

Vehicle theft is a problem in Manassas.

The city’s police department has applied for an over $12,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to purchase an additional license plate reading system, which would aid the police department in finding stolen cars.

Since the beginning of the year, 90 cars have been stolen in Manassas, thirty percent of which have not been found.

More in a press release:

The Manassas City Police Department has submitted a grant application to the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.  The department’s pending award of $12,235.00 is intended to be used to fund the purchase and installation of an additional automated license plate reader (ALPR) to supplement the department’s current ALPR program.

Since January 2019, seventy vehicles have been reported stolen in the City of Manassas and close to thirty percent of these cases remain open today. ALPR systems are valuable tools in helping solve these cases by providing a more efficient means to identifying and locating stolen vehicles. ALPR technology is also used as additional investigative tools for other enforcement efforts.

The items requested to be purchased from grant funding require only coordination within the city’s public safety users, other City departments, and selected vendors. Any comments on this grant should be directed to Lieutenant Christopher Shields at (703) 257-8017 or by email at [email protected].