License Plate Cameras

[ReconRat]

You've probably heard these mentioned, but there's not much information or talk about them. Here's a national news article that came out today, from the LA Times, about the use of the license plate reading by cameras. The cameras scan and record all plates, front and rear, and keep a photo of the vehicle. The cameras can generate an alert for wants and warrants, stolen, unpaid tickets, etc.

All states and the federal government use them. They are found at major intersections, freeways, and on-board some police vehicles.

License plate readers help police and Border Patrol, but worry privacy advocates - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2010-12/58453620.jpg

...The relatively simple technology consists of cameras, either mounted on police cars or at a stationary location, capable of capturing and processing more than 100,000 license plate images an hour. Plate numbers are automatically run against "hot list" databases of stolen, suspicious or crime-related vehicles, said Capt. Kevin Reardon of the Arlington, Va., Police Department.

Before, officers who had the time manually entered plate numbers. The new technology processes every plate captured by the camera and alerts police when there is a hit from one of the hot lists...

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/26/nation/la-na-license-reader-20101226

[Cypress]

We are in the begining of every sci-fi movie out there about "Big Brother".

[jblosser]

When you're out in public, you really have no expectation of privacy. I am not an attorney, I heard that on Law and Order...

If you're worried about being tracked, set up a trust and let that trust own your vehicles. Plates come back, for example, "registered to the ReconRat Trust", not to Tom.

[redkow97]

I'm less concerned about privacy than the fact that the automated systems have no ability to exercise discretion, and ignore the principle of innocent until proven guilty.

I've heard of red light cameras nailing people for being in a funeral procession, or clearing the intersection when you've been waiting to turn left.

Are cops always going to remember to shut these off when they're directing traffic for sporting events down town and wave people through red lights?

Who says it's even me driving my car?

etc.

If I want to stay 'private,' I wouldn't register a vehicle to begin with, and I'd ride the bus. Driving isn't a fundamental right...

[ReconRat]

When you're out in public, you really have no expectation of privacy. I am not an attorney, I heard that on Law and Order...

If you're worried about being tracked, set up a trust and let that trust own your vehicles. Plates come back, for example, "registered to the ReconRat Trust", not to Tom.

Nice try, but I doubt if it would work well. Somebody would just associate drivers to the trust in the database. "known accomplices..."

i.e. it's the plate that sets off the alarm, not the driver.

edit: identifying the face of the driver, searching the database, and setting off the alarm. That will be next. It has been attempted in airports. Not too successful yet.

Edited December 27, 2010 by ReconRat

[jblosser]

Nice try, but I doubt if it would work well. Somebody would just associate drivers to the trust in the database. "known accomplices..."

i.e. it's the plate that sets off the alarm, not the driver.

edit: identifying the face of the driver, searching the database, and setting off the alarm. That will be next. It has been attempted in airports. Not too successful yet.

Right, but if I'm in the DB as a 'bad guy', as long as they only know my name and I don't do bad things while in my car, they can't associate me to a vehicle. It would at least slow "them" up a bit.

Guess my tinfoil hat's not on too tight today, as this doesn't really bother me. As long as I'm not doing things that will arouse suspicion or get me on the 'the list' in the first place, I <should> have nothing to worry about, right? Right...

Seems to me as though it's no different than having a policeman driving behind you and running your plate, except that plates are being run on a massive scale. It doesn't violate my constitutional right to privacy.

Contrast license plate picture taking with the CCTV system in the U.K., and London in particular, which covers a lot (a majority?) of public spaces. Smile, you're on Government TV! Makes the license plate plan seem tame in comparison.

In other news, according to a DVR'ed Conspiracy Theory I watched last night, the Pentagon was NOT hit by AA flight 77 on 9/11, it was either a bomb or a missile...

[gixxie750]

YAY more stuff to control us with!

[vw151]

My sister is a Cop, they recently put this stuff in her cruiser. It's just another one of those things. I'm not too into big brother my self but on the other hand if you aren't a criminal you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

[John]

theyve been using this for a while now to repo cars.

[TSB67]

Who has a problem if a cop runs their plate? I don't. I think it's great.

Hope those people worried about being "tracked" don't have credit cards or cell phones.

You know what scares me? The amount of information that Google has on me, especially with an Android phone. I see Facebook trying to mine a ton of data on the web too.

[BiggO]

Let them try putting these up here in Chillicothe. We will just ban together and get it on the next ballot to vote to have them removed. Just like we did with those damn Redflex traffic cameras!

[Steve Butters]

ive gotten pulled over by one of these....my license was suspended and a cop drove past me and it scanned my plate and he doubled back and pulled me over to check my driving privileges...it even picked up my plate at night time

[John]

Hope those people worried about being "tracked" don't have credit cards or cell phones.

burner phones bought with cash at a random carryout. no link back to you at all. if the spot gets hot, the phone goes in the toilet. no tracking.

[Jst2fst]

burner phones bought with cash at a random carryout. no link back to you at all. if the spot gets hot, the phone goes in the toilet. no tracking.

That's the way I roll...

[Cypress]

burner phones bought with cash at a random carryout. no link back to you at all. if the spot gets hot, the phone goes in the toilet. no tracking.

Sounds like you have a dark past.

[Strictly Street]

but on the other hand if you aren't a criminal you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

Hmmm, what could possibly go wrong?

[tyler524]

Sounds like you have a dark past.

Dark.... or a colorful past?

[IN_NO_OH]

It's not appropriate for the state to compile a database of our movements, which is what it will do with a proliferation of this technology.

Running plates randomly to compare to lists of stolen or crime-involved vehicles is one thing, but recording the readings of all plates read, with locations and times, is another matter.

Whatever was envisioned with the requirement that we hang metal placards on our vehicles for the police to identify us right away it surely wasn't equivalent to a requirement that we report all of our movements to the police all the time, or even to police permission to construct such databases about all of us.

[Scruit]

I've heard of red light cameras nailing people for being in a funeral procession, or clearing the intersection when you've been waiting to turn left.

Both of those situations are state-specific. In some states you can only run the red in a funeral procession while there is an officer in the intersection blocking the green traffic. In some states the flag is enough.

And staging for a left turn is not always legal either - although my understanding is the camera only activates if the sensors predict that you will cross the stop bar on red. If you cross on green or yellow and stage for a left turn then the camera should not care. Can you give an example? (EDIT: Here is an example of a dismissal for a left-turner http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80456&page=1 )

In either situation you need to send in your not-guilty plea, and if the camera company denies it then contact the police department that issued the ticket.

Heck, with a funeral procession go to 10tv and get some of your 15 minutes.

Edited August 16, 2011 by Scruit