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License-Plate Scanners: Fighting Crime or Invading Privacy?
Jul 31st, 2009
By Hilary Hylton
If you are behind the wheel of your car, someone may be on to you. More and more cities are equipping patrol officers, toll booths and even access roads with computer sidekicks that can keep track of vehicle movements. By doing so, they are changing the face of 21st century law enforcement — and sparking debate over privacy issues.
Automated license-plate-recognition systems (ALPRs) mounted in patrol cars are capable of processing 1,500 license plates a minute, capturing a vast amount of data about the movements of both criminals and law-abiding citizens. For police, ALPRs allow them to solve auto-theft cases, pick up wanted felons or monitor the movements of sexual predators.