Originally Posted by
SWCPHX
The ALPRs are just another tool that helps cops catch bad guys. They are not a tool for spying on average citizens. They have recovered a large number of stolen cars and have helped track down suspect vehicles from all sorts of crimes.
Open-ended dragnets are just another tool that helps the government catch "bad guys" too.
The ALPR systems are a tool for spying on average citizens.
The ALPR systems are also used as a tool for governmental and even non-governmental parties to track down non-criminals -- that includes tracking down debtors or for service of process even in civil litigation matters where there is a legal dispute between two non-governmental actors.
This topic, as of late, seems to have grabbed a little more interest than usual:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...603576296.html
Originally Posted by with bolding added
Nationwide Vision'
"I'm terrified that someone could get hurt because of this data," says Mike Griffin, a Baltimore auto repossession agent who uses his own fleet of camera-equipped cars to collect about a million plates a month.
Mr. Griffin says he takes extensive security measures with the data, which he contributes to a private national database.
These private databases, each containing hundreds of millions of plates, could become the largest collection of people's movements within the U.S., says Mary Ellen Callahan, former chief privacy officer for the Department of Homeland Security. "You could have a nationwide vision of where I was at a given time," says Ms. Callahan, who now runs the privacy practice at law firm Jenner & Block.
Law-enforcement officers say they use the technology to track down stolen cars, collect unpaid tickets and identify the vehicles of suspected criminals.
Most unpaid tickets don't involve criminals. DHS/TSA is often relying upon private sector databases (which are tracking people) so as to determine how it will deal with US persons for some purpose or another.