Big Brother with ALPR
[From Fla. police cameras analyze thousands of license tags via Sun-Sentinel]
ALPR data provides police with the location of a specific car. This data is typically used to identify stolen vehicles, vehicles associated with an Amber Alert, parking tickets, and congestion charges.
One issue the article raises is how long should this information be stored (and who should have access to it over the long term). After all, the Broward Sheriff’s Office has 35 systems located on patrols cars and fixed locations and scans an average of 300,000 plates a month. The resulting data over a period of months and years can provide significant details about the use of a car.
As the article notes, some cities are storing this data permanently. They may also be sharing this information. This means any police officer can type in a license plate and then have a location history of the vehicle.
There is no bright line between the value of this data for later investigative police work versus its encroachment on privacy. From a gut level, I believe this information should be deleted after 30 days or at most 1 year (depending on what its being used for, e.g. finding stolen cars versus congestion charges) unless it is needed for an investigation. I also think access to this information should be limited, e.g., reasonable suspicion requirement.
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