The next day, you are driving to work when you hear a police siren directly behind you. Getting out of your car, you’re ordered to put your hands in the air and told that you’re under arrest. The officer arrests you and brings you to jail for booking.
Automated license plate readers (also sometimes called automatic number-plate recognition) use cameras to capture license plate numbers, then digitize those images and upload them into a database searchable and shareable by law enforcement. Police and other law enforcement agencies use them to track a vehicle’s travel patterns.
Automated license plate readers (also sometimes called automatic number-plate recognition) use cameras to capture license plate numbers, then digitize those images and upload them into a database searchable and shareable by law enforcement. Police and other law enforcement agencies use them to track a vehicle’s travel patterns.
ALPRs are a form of dragnet surveillance that records the license plate — as well as time and place — of every car that passes within a particular camera’s frame. The data from ALPRs is stored for long periods of time, usually by private contractors, allowing law enforcement to track an individual’s location and movement. According to vendors, that information can tell police where a plate has been, identify travel patterns and link vehicles to one another, all without the knowledge of vehicle drivers or passengers.
See the appendix for more information.