Cheap automatic license plate readers are creeping into neighborhoods.
SlateClayton Burnett seems like an unlikely candidate to run a cutting-edge surveillance system. “I’d say they probably don’t know about it.” Automatic license plate readers, or ALPRs, have been part of law enforcement’s toolkit for well over a decade. Recently, Hudson says, they used license plate readers to “virtually gate” McKeesport, a low-income, 20,000-person town south of Pittsburgh: “Any way you can come in and out, you’re on camera.” The dream behind ALPR has finally come true in Allegheny County: Police can actually track someone as they move around the region. “Now a cop can look up your license plate and see where you’ve been for the past two years,” he says. But “we just don’t have the resources that the ACLUs in New York or California have, or even Michigan.” As automatic license plate readers proliferate in smaller towns and redder states, there are not always organizations in place ready to push back against them.
History of this topic
License Plate Readers Are Leaking Real-Time Video Feeds and Vehicle Data
Wired
Are automated license plate readers in your city? Here’s how to find out
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San Fernando Valley gets 100 license plate-reading cameras to help police crack down on crime
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License Plate Readers Are Creating a US-Wide Database of More Than Just Cars
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California cops illegally shared license plate details, violating privacy laws, grand jury says
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License plate readers and video cameras are coming to Orange to fight crime, officials say
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The Danger of License Plate Readers in Post-Roe America
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Melrose Avenue neighborhood group to install license plate readers over crime worries
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Number plate cameras also used to scan motorists' faces: report
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Customs and Border Protection Can Track Cars Nationwide Via Commercial Database
Slate
LAPD automatic license plate readers pose a massive privacy risk, audit says
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City Council approves installing 37 license plate reader cameras in town
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AI License Plate Readers Are Cheaper—So Drive Carefully
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Automated license plate readers to help nab burglars get the nod from La Cañada City Council
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Can License Plate Readers Really Reduce Crime?
Wired
California welfare agency monitoring recipients with license plate readers.
Slate
Justice Min. wants to store license plate photos, despite privacy concerns
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Security This Week: License Plate Readers in Texas Are Now Also Debt Collectors
Wired
Use of license plate photo databases is raising privacy concerns
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