Law enforcement agencies across California have dramatically increased their use of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) in recent years. An analysis by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) reveals that California agencies scanned license plates over 1.1 billion times in 2016 and 2017 alone. This massive data collection raises significant questions about privacy and the effectiveness of Finding Cars By Scanning Plates in real-world policing. While police departments argue that these scans are crucial for efficient operations and locating vehicles of interest, the data suggests a different reality: mass surveillance with limited direct impact on finding specific suspect vehicles in most scans.
The Scale of License Plate Scanning: Billions of Records and Counting
The EFF’s investigation, based on public records requests from over 200 agencies nationwide, uncovered a staggering scale of license plate scanning. In California, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department led the way, scanning 234.4 million plates in just two years. Other Southern California agencies also contributed significantly to this total, including:
- San Bernardino County Sheriff: 162.7 million scans
- Downey Police Department: 64 million scans
- Beverly Hills Police Department: 54.9 million scans
These numbers represent just a portion of the total scans, as data from major agencies like the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) was not included in the report. To put this volume into perspective, over a billion scans could theoretically scan every registered vehicle in California more than 30 times. The continuous and widespread nature of this data collection highlights the pervasive use of technology for finding cars by scanning plates, regardless of whether those vehicles are suspected of any wrongdoing.
How License Plate Readers Work in Finding Cars
License plate readers are sophisticated camera systems that automatically capture images of license plates. These systems, often mounted on patrol cars or fixed locations like traffic lights, record the license plate number, along with the time and location of the scan. The collected data is then instantly checked against law enforcement databases, commonly referred to as “hot lists.” These hot lists contain license plates associated with various categories, such as stolen vehicles, vehicles linked to outstanding warrants, or cars seen at crime scenes.
Police departments emphasize the efficiency gains from using ALPR technology. As Darren Wyatt of the Anaheim Police Department explained, “If you’re driving around in a patrol car, you have one set of eyes. The cameras are around the entire vehicle.” This “always-on” surveillance capability allows for the automated and rapid identification of vehicles that match entries in their hot lists, theoretically improving their ability in finding cars of interest. Proponents argue that this technology is essential for quickly identifying stolen vehicles, locating missing persons, and solving crimes.
The Reality of “Hits” and the Efficiency of Finding Cars by Scanning Plates
Despite the massive scale of license plate scanning, the EFF report reveals a surprisingly low rate of “hits,” meaning scans that actually match a license plate on a police hot list. Across numerous departments, only about one in every five hundred scans results in a match. In some cases, the hit rate is even lower. For instance, the Beverly Hills Police Department reported a hit rate of just 0.02 percent.
These statistics raise questions about the actual effectiveness of finding cars by scanning plates in relation to the vast amount of data collected. The overwhelming majority of scans capture information on vehicles not connected to any crime or investigation. This low hit rate suggests that while ALPR technology can occasionally be useful in specific cases, its primary function, in practice, is mass surveillance rather than targeted crime-fighting.
Privacy Concerns and the Orwellian Implications of Vehicle Tracking
The extensive data collection through license plate readers has sparked significant concerns about government surveillance and privacy. The data compiled by ALPRs allows law enforcement to track the movements of individuals in granular detail. By analyzing driving patterns, authorities can potentially infer sensitive information about people’s lives, such as their places of worship, visits to medical clinics, participation in protests, or even trips to gun stores.
Dave Maass, one of the EFF report’s authors, warns, “I would say that we’re getting close [to an Orwellian nightmare].” He emphasizes that “License plate readers are indiscriminate forms of mass surveillance. That means they collect information on everyone, regardless of whether you’re suspected of being part of the crime.” This indiscriminate data collection and the potential for misuse raise serious ethical and legal questions about the balance between public safety and individual privacy in the age of automated surveillance technologies like ALPRs used for finding cars by scanning plates.
Data Sharing and the Expansion of Surveillance Networks
Another critical aspect highlighted by the EFF report is the widespread sharing of license plate reader data among law enforcement agencies. Local departments routinely share their data not only with neighboring cities but also with agencies across state lines. For example, the Cathedral City Police Department shares data with over 700 external agencies, including departments in distant locations like Springfield, Illinois, and Miami, Florida.
Furthermore, many agencies share their ALPR data with private companies like Vigilant Solutions and their National Vehicle Location Service. The details of these commercial data-sharing arrangements are often opaque to the public. This broad dissemination of data raises concerns about the potential for unauthorized access, abuse, and hacking, as each additional agency or contractor represents another point of vulnerability in the data security chain. The sharing of data significantly expands the scope of surveillance beyond local jurisdictions, creating vast networks for tracking vehicle movements across the country, all under the guise of finding cars by scanning plates.
The Future of Surveillance: Facial Recognition and Beyond
License plate readers are just one part of an evolving landscape of police surveillance technology. As the EFF report notes, facial recognition software is emerging as the next frontier in surveillance, with agencies already implementing it across the nation. The increasing sophistication and integration of these technologies raise profound questions about the future of privacy and the potential for automated surveillance to reshape society. Understanding the current impact of technologies like license plate readers is crucial for informed public discourse and policy decisions regarding the appropriate limits and oversight of these powerful tools in law enforcement.
