Can The Surveillance State Be Stopped?

As Law Enforcement Pushes APLRs and Surveillance, People Push Back

With advances in technology and under the guise of keeping everyone safe, comes an ever increasing infringement by the government on people’s privacy. You can see evidence of this in the increasing number of surveillance tools used by police agencies across the nation. Used to scan license plates, monitor street corners, and look for people with outstanding warrants, these tools toe the line between safety mechanism and Big Brother’s eye in the sky. [Read more…]

Unregulated Database of License Plate Photos Grows

There is a very good chance that at least one photograph of your license plate exists in a database somewhere. Whether it was taken by your local police department or a growing number of private agencies, it’s estimated that every vehicle own in this country has been hit by an automatic license plate recognition scanner, at least once. [Read more…]

More License Plate Scanners in North Carolina

They’ve been in use in Charlotte for quite some time, but now the Triangle region has their own Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras. These devices are designed to help police spot stolen cars and stolen license plates, but they aren’t without controversy. [Read more…]

Massachusetts Town Rejects State Funding for License Plate Scanners

In a first for the state, and possibly the first nationwide, a town has rejected state funding for police to purchase automatic license plate scanners (ALPR) due to privacy concerns. [Read more…]

Editorial on ALPR Systems

There was very good editorial in the Clarion Ledger on ALPR (Automated License Plate Reader) Systems, their advantages in law enforcement, and the significant pitfalls when it come to privacy and civil liberties concerns. [Read more…]

License Plate Scanners as Profit Centers

Automatic license plate reader technology has been deployed in police cars across the nation for years now. And adoption rates are skyrocketing, as the systems get cheaper, and the benefits to public safety and efficient police work have become clear.

Typically, the uses for these license plate scanners include locating stolen cars, amber alter searches, finding drivers with outstanding criminal arrest warrants or suspended driver’s licenses, and more. [Read more…]

More Questions on Automated License Plate Recognition Systems (ALPRs)

There is a good article in Time Magazine about automatic license plate scanners, and the questions it raises about privacy, a topic that we’ve been writing about here. [Read more…]

Automatic License Plate Scanners & The Coming Surveillance State

Automatic license plate scanning systems are tracking your movements, and logging your location. And there is almost nothing you can do about it. While there are serious civil liberties issues raised by these systems, it appears that they are here to stay. [Read more…]