2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumPolice Across U.S. Quietly Turning to Cameras That Track All Vehicles' Movements: Survey
Its happening under the radar of most Americansbut perhaps not for much longer.
Police forces across the United States are quietly investing in vehicle tracking technology that can store vast quantities of data about peoples movements, according to the ACLU. The civil liberties group is drawing attention to an interesting 2012 report from the Police Executive Research Forum, which states that 85 percent of police agencies plan to acquire or increase their use of license plate recognition cameras within the next five years.
Automatic license plate readers are used in public places, mounted much like security cameras on telephone poles or sometimes on police patrol cars. They are designed to photograph the license plates of all cars that pass by, processing the information automatically and sending it to a database along with location data. This is highly useful for tracking stolen vehicles or the movements of criminals. But the ACLU is alarmed about the issue of data retention, warning about the creation of databases with location information on every motorist who encounters the system, not just those whom the government suspects of criminal activity. Police departments nationwide are using ALPR to quietly accumulate millions of plate records, storing them in backend databases.
The 85 percent statistic cited in the research report was based on a survey of some 70 forces that was conducted in 2011. That means it is likely many of the forces that were then only planning to invest in readers have purchased the technology by now. (At the time of the survey, 71 percent said they were already using it, to some extent.)
The fear from a privacy standpoint is that once it is effectively deployed nationwide, it can be used as a kind of mass, warrantless tracking system. Such concerns earlier this month prompted state Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia to propose a bill in the South Carolina House that would ban the technology in the state. There is nothing to protect [the data], Rutherford said. All they are doing is collecting it. According to the ACLU, there are currently only two states, Maine and New Hampshire, with positive laws governing how the technology can be used. New Hampshire bans them, according to the Wall Street Journal, and Maine requires data to be deleted after 21 days unless it is part of an investigation.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/01/14/automatic_license_plate_readers_survey_shows_most_u_s_police_agencies_plan.html
lunatica
(53,410 posts)are now caught by cameras. They get a notice in the mail with photographs of their license plates and of their faces. There is no contesting the evidence.
All you have to do is look up at the four corners of a busy intersection. There are cameras directly facing you that can take a picture of your face and one on the corners to track all the movement on both streets. And obviously cameras behind you that can take a photo of your license plate as you go through or make a turn.
It keeps me honest.
kooljerk666
(776 posts)have everyone everywhere dress & look the same.
It's easier to give in and obey the law. It's designed that way.
ProgressiveProfessor
(22,144 posts)Also have a recessed and angled license plate. A high mounted reader cannot see it, a human at ground level can.
kooljerk666
(776 posts)thats where I got the idea. That & NASCAR. Oh yea I got a nice TBI last year & when I was recovering my cousin was in a pretty small car accident. She banged her head & thought nothing of it. 3 days later she was in the emergency room with a Hematoma.
She died on the table.
Helmets & a fire proof suit are not that bad of an idea & i would love to see the Gvt say "you have no right to any more protection than the feeble amount afforded you".
The GS is worked to the balls & with 2 people on it, can leave a GSXR600 in the dust (with 1 rider). It is for sale too, I am over 50 yo & finally getting a bit less wreckless. Top speed over 170mph.
ProgressiveProfessor
(22,144 posts)The top box and a relocated plate do the job well.
kooljerk666
(776 posts)if any one will pay for them.
My TBI occured last year & exactly 1 year later, I had a nasty seizure. I thought I got off scott free but the hospital notified the DOT & I may have to walk for 6 months. I may postpone all m/c stuff for 12/18 months just to be safe & I do not want my family to have to come to my funeral.
I'd like a small enduro (I am old & thats what we used to call them) for exploring & camping but we will see.
Comrade_McKenzie
(2,526 posts)Yeah, and I'd rather deal with a camera than a cop.
ProgressiveProfessor
(22,144 posts)Some recent court decisions make them very easy to beat if the technicians who calibrate them including light timing is not there. If you pay them today you are a sucker.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Sunlei
(22,651 posts)Then the private for profit camera company sued the city for breach of contract and got millions to settle.