By Brad Segall

LOWER MAKEFIELD, Pa. (CBS) – Several police departments in Bucks County now have a new high-tech tool to help in the fight against crime.

Thanks to a grant from Homeland Security, eight police departments now have an automatic license-plate reader.

High-tech cameras are attached to the rear of a police car and they can scan up to 1,800 license plate images per minute.

It quickly identifies wanted or stolen vehicles, fugitives and potential gang members or terrorists.

“These cameras help the officer by increasing the number of tags that are actually captured and an alarm goes off in the officer’s vehicle that indicates that a tag is on a list and is wanted,” says Lower Makefield police chief Ken Coluzzi.

Each unit costs about $18,000.

A total of 38 plate readers are being awarded to police departments throughout the five county Philadelphia area. They are being strategically selected because they are in high traffic areas.