LIGHTHOUSE POINT, Fla. -- A new technology that takes a photo of the license plate of every car that goes in and out of a South Florida city is causing controversy with the American Civil Liberties Union.

The technology in question is a license plate recognition system that uses cameras to take a photo of the back end of every vehicle that enters and exits Lighthouse Point.

Twenty six cameras are focused on vehicles that travel through the streets of the city.

"All of our streets are covered -- all of our access streets around the perimeter of our community," said Lighthouse Point Police Chief Ross Licata.

But the chief insists the system is used only to catch those who might be breaking the law.

"We are not using the system to track and follow people," he told Local 10's Jeff Weinsier.

The tag information of every vehicle is immediately sent from the cameras to police department computers. The system then runs the plate information through several local, state and federal databases.

If there's a "hit," a special screen pops up and an officer is dispatched.

"We have recovered stolen tags and stolen vehicles. We have located missing persons," Licata said. "It helped place a car used in a bank robbery in close proximity to where the bank was robbed."

The system in Lighthouse Point cost $25,000. Seized forfeiture funds were used to purchase it. Taxpayer money was not used.

The cameras have been up since the middle of January. Since then, 1.8 million images have been recorded.

The American Civil Liberties Union said that cameras shift crime into other jurisdictions. The ACLU also said there is no assurance that the technology will only focus on those who are breaking the law.

But the city and the police chief offer no apologies.

"If you are not getting into trouble or doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about," Licata.