Police cars are increasingly equipped with sophisticated technology to aid law enforcement. Among these tools, Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) stand out for their ability to scan and record vast amounts of data. This article delves into how Police Cars Scan License Plates, the technology behind it, and the implications for privacy and surveillance.
What are Automatic License Plate Readers on Police Cars?
Automatic License Plate Readers are essentially advanced camera systems mounted on police cars, or sometimes fixed to stationary objects like poles and traffic lights. These systems are designed to automatically scan the license plates of every vehicle they encounter. When police cars scan license plates, the ALPR technology captures not just the plate number, but also the date, time, and precise location of the vehicle.
Modern police car license plate scanners utilize specialized digital cameras and computer software. This combination allows for the rapid capture of numerous license plate images, converting these images into readable text, and then instantly comparing them against extensive databases. These databases, often referred to as “hot lists,” contain license plates of interest, which could range from stolen vehicles and cars linked to outstanding warrants to vehicles associated with broader watch lists. If a police car scans a license plate that matches a plate on a hot list, the system immediately alerts the officers.
The Privacy Concerns of Police Cars Scanning License Plates
The core issue with police cars that scan license plates is the indiscriminate nature of data collection. ALPRs record every license plate they scan, regardless of whether a vehicle is suspected of any wrongdoing. As technology advances, the sheer volume of data that police cars can collect is only limited by the number of vehicles within camera range. This mass collection of data on ordinary citizens raises significant privacy concerns.
Consider the example of the Rhinebeck Police Department, which scanned 164,043 license plates over a three-month period. Of these, only eight were flagged as being of interest – a minuscule 0.005% hit rate. This means 99.995% of the scanned plates belonged to individuals not suspected of any crime. The accumulation of location data from countless innocent individuals presents a serious challenge to personal privacy.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police has acknowledged these concerns, pointing out that “mobile LPR units could read and collect the license plate numbers of vehicles parked at addiction counseling meetings, doctors’ offices, health clinics, or even staging areas for political protests.” This capability can have a chilling effect on fundamental social and political freedoms. Furthermore, without robust privacy safeguards, the data collected when police cars scan license plates can be stored indefinitely and even shared across different agencies, creating a vast government database detailing the movements of individuals, potentially revealing sensitive information about their lives, beliefs, and associations.
To illustrate the depth of this data collection, consider a single week’s worth of ALPR data from one car in Beacon, NY. Records showed the car’s location captured 24 times in that week, revealing patterns of movement and even overnight parking locations. While this single instance might seem innocuous, it demonstrates the potential to compile a detailed and potentially intrusive picture of an individual’s life simply from routine license plate scans, even when no offense has been committed.
The Proliferation of License Plate Readers on Police Cars
Automatic License Plate Readers are not confined to large metropolitan police departments. As of 2013, New York State had funded over 422 ALPR systems across the state, ensuring that every county had at least one. Beyond state funding, many local municipalities and agencies like the New York State Police and Department of Motor Vehicles also operate these devices.
Even small towns and villages are equipped with this technology. Municipalities like Oxford Village, Rhinebeck Village, and Gowanda Village, with populations ranging from under a thousand to a few thousand residents, utilize ALPRs. In major cities, like New York City, the NYPD operates hundreds of ALPRs as part of its Domain Awareness System, a comprehensive surveillance network. The exact number of ALPRs deployed by the NYPD remains undisclosed, raising further questions about the scale of license plate scanning.
Data Access and Sharing from Police License Plate Scans
The data collected when police cars scan license plates is not always confined to the local jurisdiction. Data sharing is common. In Westchester County, for instance, various law enforcement agencies collaborate in the Westchester Intelligence Center, pooling data collected from ALPRs and other sources. Similarly, the Albany area has established the Albany Crime Analysis Center for regional data sharing.
Furthermore, some law enforcement agencies are partnering with private companies like Vigilant Solutions (now known as Flock Safety), which maintain massive nationwide databases of license plate information. Vigilant Solutions boasts billions of data points collected from both private and law enforcement ALPRs, growing by millions more each month. This gives law enforcement agencies access to a vast network of historical and real-time location data far beyond their own scanning capabilities. The NYPD, for example, has contracted with Vigilant Solutions, significantly expanding its surveillance reach.
The Need for Policies Governing Police Car License Plate Scanning
Despite the widespread use of ALPR technology by police cars, clear and consistent policies regarding data collection, storage, and usage are often lacking. The absence of statewide regulations leads to a patchwork of local policies, many of which fail to adequately protect privacy.
In Westchester County, despite having a high concentration of ALPRs, the County Department of Public Safety lacked a written policy governing their use, data storage, access, or sharing. Data retention policies vary widely, with some agencies, like Yonkers, admitting to indefinitely storing all collected ALPR data.
Robust privacy protections are crucial to mitigate the privacy risks associated with police cars scanning license plates. Clear policies are needed to address public concerns, build trust between communities and law enforcement, and ensure that this powerful technology is used responsibly and ethically. Local governments should prioritize implementing comprehensive policies before deploying and utilizing ALPR systems.
For a broader perspective on the use of ALPRs nationwide, the ACLU report “You Are Being Tracked: How License Plate Readers Are Being Used to Record Americans’ Movements” provides further in-depth analysis.
References
- New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, License Plate Reader Suggested Guidelines, Jan. 2011.
- Rhinebeck Police Department FOIL Response: Quarterly License Plate Reader Progress Report Apr.-Jun 2011.
- International Association of Chiefs of Police, Privacy Impact Assessment Report for Utilization of License Plate Readers (Sept. 2009).
- New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) FOIL Response (Aug. 27, 2013).
- 2010 Census of Population and Housing, U.S. Census Bureau.
- Testimony of Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John J. Miller, NYPD, Nov. 12, 2014.
- Ardsley Village FOIL Response.
- Bedford Town FOIL Response.
- Colonie PD FOIL Response.
- Vigilant Solutions Scope of Work.
- DCJS FOIL Response.
- Westchester County Department of Public Safety FOIL Response.
- City of Yonkers FOIL Response.
- NYCLU Report, You Are Being Tracked: How License Plate Readers Are Being Used to Record Americans’ Movements, ACLU.
