Washington area law enforcement agencies will use a $1 million federal grant to expand a terrorist surveillance program that records license plants despite concerns raised about the program by privacy advocates. The surveillance program uses 250 cameras that photograph license plates and then store that information in local databases. It was designed to catch would-be terrorists, but local police say the program is particularly effective in apprehending more run-of-the-mill criminals.

The $1 million Department of Homeland Security grant will allow local police in the capital region to maintain existing cameras, create a new database shared by several police departments and add three new fixed camera sites.

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