The trouble with crime-fighting automated license plate readers
Eleven years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police need a warrant before a GPS tracking device can be attached to someone’s car.
Eleven years later, police all around the country are tracking cars through license plate readers that do the same job with no warrant required. These license plate readers are mounted alongside roads and on police cars. There is no limit to the imagination as to the places they could be (and are) installed.
The system is considered helpful whenever it catches real criminals, but without regulation, innocent people can suffer from unnecessary surveillance.
The Illinois Northwest Herald questions whether these devices could give law enforcement (or the government) the ability to track innocent citizens as they go to “protests, a church, a bar, a union meeting, a cancer treatment center, a political protest or a therapist?”
Could a family member of a registered citizen be targeted just because their car has to be registered? That is a constant concern for me.
Florida, along with all states, needs to make sure that this particular tool used by law enforcement is closely regulated so that no rogue officer can misuse it.
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I frequently loan one of my cars to my daughter…who was the ‘victim’ 24 years ago. We resolved the situation years ago and she and her family have moved to Florida…we get along just fine…without law enforcement involvement. Could she be stopped because of ‘license plate’ readers? How much of today’s law enforcement is supported by monitoring old, bygone crimes while crimes run rampant in today’s world?
The police where I live – in California – have ALPRs. I was curious, so I requested 6 months worth of records of my car and license plate. Boringly, all the pics were either of my car parked on the street in front of my house or parked iny driveway. (Nope, not my car at a grocery store, at a mall, or even at my job….. just at home.)
(INext time they want to conduct a Compliance Check, I’ll just tell them check their ALPR records!)
I remember hearing on the news when they started putting those speed cameras up in England that people climbed the poles and set them on fire.
‘It is the single greatest law enforcement tool’:
https://www.firstcoastnews.com/amp/article/news/local/it-is-the-single-greatest-law-enforcement-tool-st-johns-county-sheriffs-office-explains-use-of-license-plate-readers/77-ece6666c-7b81-445c-97e1-af45c1796e9e
Glad FAC made this post. Orlando PD uses these devices in their cars. I have been followed around the city many times. The office was so obvious on one occasion that I drove to his headquarters with him following and I filed a complaint. The Sgt and Lt over internal affairs confirmed my suspicion —that the officer’s only reason to follow me around town was because I am on the registry and their bell sounded as their on board computer scanned my tag. The officer had no probable cause to stop me, so he just followed me hoping to find a reason. No violation of department policy, so nothing else happened.
It is funny that this article is here couple of years ago here in Martin County a friend of mine, took a vehicle of mine or used it and went to a house on the road where they were kids actually a family member, and when questioned by the officer that I know well he brought up that a license plate reader had picked up my vehicle in front of this address I wanna know why that would be that maybe I was there well it was several explanations one it was not me two I own the property. It is a rental property, so yeah it’s it’s kind of weird how that whole situation works.