The profusion of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras amongst police forces has given privacy campaigners a tough "sell." How can you explain the possible abuse of a system that simply does a MUCH better job of what cops are supposed to be doing anyway (i.e. checking license plates for stolen vehicles and any outstanding warrants on the driver)? News10 reports that the privacy people may have an easier time fighting ANPR, now that Sacramento's Arden Fair Mall is using the system to scan vehicles entering and exiting its premises. Mall Security Supremo Steve Reed says chill, it's no biggie [paraphrase]. "The information from the cameras would only be shared with Sacramento Police and in those cases, only plate information would be passed on to law enforcement. Other personal information about shoppers, their vehicles or their purchases is not included." Whew! And guess who's footing the bill for these ANPR cameras with their self-enforced privacy limits? You are! "The cameras were paid for by a U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant to help keep a close watch on all the comings and goings at the busy shopping hub." How many other malls have federally-funded ANPR cameras? Can the feds get the info too? TTAC's investigating.
9 Comments on “Coming to a Mall Near You: Federally-Funded Spy Cams...”
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Are we to understand that a mall in Sacramento is a hotbed of potential terrorist activity? Does the dept. of Homeland Fear Mongering really need this info?
Big Brother is alive and well.
“Homeland of Fear Mongering”… I like it!
They don’t really need the info but they are getting it…just like info on books people check out at the local library.
Amazon stood up to and won a case against the Government recently because they would not turn over book purchase information.
It’s frightening how far the Patriot Act goes to obtain all information about everything we do now.
I guess stolen number plates are not a possiblity.
Growing up in the Cold War (born in ’75), I distinctly recall that societies that filmed, tracked, and otherwise constantly surveilled its population were referred to as “police states.” The US was supposed to be the antithesis of this, you recall, in the whole Reagan-era “forces of good vs. the empire of evil” view of the Cold War.
What was the point of winning if we just end up with a US version of Stasi?
Its not quite a police state unless the government is requireing the cameras to be placed on private property.
Am I the only one who thinks it’s odd that people believe that their license plate number which is displayed prominently on the front and back of their vehicle (back only in some states) is somehow “private” information?
@Sherman Lin
emphasis on “not quite” a police state.
just like Guantánamo Bay is “not quite” a Gulag.