AZ PD Buys ANPR, ACLU PO'ed
KVOA TV reports that police in Oro Valley, Arizona have joined the legions of law enforcement agencies using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems. Oro’s taken delivery of LPR Systems’ Mobile Plate Hunter 900 . When the Plate Hunter was rolled out in Utica, NY in August, the ACLU claimed the system violated “every motorist’s civil right to avoid police surveillance unless a law has been violated.” The ACLU’s executive director of the Central New York Chapter says the police need a new business model: “Police really should be in the business of investigating crimes, not tracking law-abiding citizens,” Barrie Gewanter pronounced. “When we are driving and we are always having our licenses plates examined, then everybody on the road is being treated as a suspect.”
Glenn is a baby-boomer, born in 1954. Along with his wife, he makes his home in Connecticut. Employed in the public sector as an Information Tedchnology Specialist, Glenn has long been a car fan. Past rides have included heavy iron such as a 1967 GTO, to a V8 T-Bird. In between those high-horsepower cars, he's owned a pair of BMW 320i's. Now, with a daily commute of 40 miles, his concession to MPG dictates the ownership of a 2006 Honda Civic coupe which, while fun to drive, is a modest car for a pistonhead. As an avid reader, Glenn enjoys TTAC, along with many other auto-realated sites, and the occasional good book. As an avid electronic junkie, Glenn holds an Advanced Class amateur ("ham") radio license, and is into many things electronic. From a satellite radio and portable GPS unit in the cars, to a modest home theater system and radio-intercom in his home, if it's run by the movement of electrons, he's interested. :-)
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I'm all for scanning plates, running registered owner, and nabbing people with suspended D/Ls and warrants. Hell, it's all I had to do sometimes when I was a young deputy at 2:00 AM with nothing going on. If some automated equipment could do it - why not? Safer for me to drive, and I can keep my eye out for the other things I should really be watching. However, I would strenuously object to keeping a database of all plates scanned by the unit. Keeping track of where people go who have committed no offense is NOT law enforcement - it's far more draconian. I am also under no illusion that any state has a handle on the uninsured driver problem. States should have some way of verifying valid insurance in realtime, much like a DL, and they don't. Licenses that get suspended because of no proof of insurance are done either far too little, too late, or by mistake.
States could fix the uninsured driver problem but are scared of incurring the wrath of fanatics like the ACLU. One way would be to issue or renew a tag only after proof of insurance is shown, and require return of a license tag before insurance can be cancelled. A high-tech solution would be to require cars to have RFID gizmos issued or activated by insurance companies so roadside devices could check for insured status.
Good point, Blautens. This is a great system as long as they don't keep track of the plates that are not of current interest to them. If someone doesn't belong on the road, the police should have every resource possible to identify and remove them before they have an opportunity to crash into me and run.