Comments on: The trouble with crime-fighting automated license plate readers

By: Dustin

Dustin — Sat, 11 Mar 2023 15:07:06 +0000

In reply to Capt Charles ‘Bob’ Munsey Jr. USN Ret.

@ Capt. Munsey:

Don’t forget CSI and Law and Order: SVU.

By: David⚜️

David⚜️ — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 22:30:15 +0000

In reply to David. (INext time they want to conduct a Compliance Check, I'll just tell them check their ALPR records!)

By: Capt Charles 'Bob' Munsey Jr. USN Ret

Capt Charles 'Bob' Munsey Jr. USN Ret — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 21:57:43 +0000

As I have read today’s many FAC commentaries I can’t help but wonder if today’s law enforcement techniques don’t come from the Gestapo/KGB playbook?

By: Roger Mansfield

Roger Mansfield — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 20:40:37 +0000

Have two experiences with ALPR’s.
Good friends of our’s from out of town borrowed our vehicle for the weekend.
While they were downtown at a local Irish pub the local PD drove by and the reader tripped on our vehicle. When our friends returned to the car to come home 2 patrol cars pulled up and blocked the exit. The officers told them they had to call me at home to verify and then made them wait for an additional 20+ minutes to leave. To make sure I wasn’t hiding in the bushes I guess. The pub was located within the one of the county “exclusion zones”.
The second occurrence was by a good friend. He was based in Jacksonville but in Ft. Pierce for business. The second night they were there there was a loud banging on their hotel room door with the announcement “Ft. Pierce Police Department. Open the door immediately or we will enter the room by force”. My buddy told them that he was opening the door as soon as his girlfriend got dressed. He opened the door immediately though when he heard the officers prep to barge in.
Both my buddy and his girlfriend had to sit on the floor for about 40 minutes while the PD verified his travel permit and then made him verify that his customer was based in Ft. Pierce.
His attorney later requested all the paperwork from the incident from the PD. In that file it clearly said that his presence was clearly indicated by their ALPR system earlier the day before.
When it was flagged a second time in the same day the PD then tracked him down.

By: Disgusted in Michigan

Disgusted in Michigan — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 18:32:09 +0000

With all the technology out there, nothing surprises me any more, except for one thing. Whenever I go grocery shopping I always use cash. I only use my debit card at ATMs to get cash, and I don’t use credit cards. I normally shop at Kroger, but on occasion I might go to my local Meijer just for a change, maybe once a month. At the checkout, I only pay with cash. I don’t have any kind of rewards card or anything like that. A couple weeks later, I’ll get a book of coupons in the mail from Meijer with my name and address on the envelope, and the coupons are for the exact same items I had just bought. I thought maybe it was just a fluke, so a month ago I bought some completely different items that I’ve never bought before, and sure enough just yesterday I get coupons in the mail for those exact items/
My question is, if I’ve never given my name and address to anyone at my local Meijer, and always pay with cash, instead of a debit or credit card which could easily discern my identity, how the hell does Meijer know what I’m buying and where I live?

By: Mack

Mack — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 15:36:53 +0000

Yes, very scary! Just driving one’s own car puts you in jeopardy for doing nothing!

By: Dustin

Dustin — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 14:30:06 +0000

No regulation will stop these kinds of systems from being abused. it would be more effective to call it what it is – unauthorized surveillance – and bar any information gleaned from its use from being used as evidence. And to authorize a civil penalty if the information is disclosed or published.

By: Facts should matter

Facts should matter — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 13:48:23 +0000

Another variation on a theme cops do is “Fog reveal” that collects metadata from the geo-location on one’s cell phone. They’re basically tracking people without a warrant. The authorities claim they can establish “patterns of life” and use that in future investigations.

“Pro-active” policing is just a euphemism for
circumventing the constitution If the cops can’t find a loophole, they will create one while closing all of ours.

By: DavidM

DavidM — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 12:57:51 +0000

You have a good point. The federal government is worried about TikTok being evasive and intruding on privacy but yet they are trying to be more so by allowing states to follow these procedures.

By: TS

TS — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 12:20:30 +0000

“In Alabama, Troy University installed license plate readers this month at all campus entrances and exits that alert campus police when registered sex offenders or those with felony warrants show up.”

The term Police State is getting waaaaay too close for comfort.