City of Palo Alto considering license plate readers to “combat retail theft”

As I don't understand the full scope of the problem, I fail to understand why license plate readers are going to help much. Further, I refuse to believe that when these cases of retail theft occur, the stores attacked are not getting footage of a car, with partially readable plates, make, and model.

Even more importantly, if they went through with whatever plan they have here, why wouldn't criminals just remove their plates, use different plates, use fake plates, hide their plates temporarily, etc.? The license plate reader seems like a fairly easy thing to beat especially when you know exactly when you'll be performing an act of retail theft.

This just seems like an opportunistic attempt to grant a sweet contract to some license plate reading company, not an earnest attempt to solve a problem.

Why not CCTV? Having video footage to subpoena after a crime is committed, then analyze, seems less surveillance society than going straight to a real-time, individual tracking data store.