Whats everyone's take on Automatic License Plate Recognition systems that a lot of police dept are utilizing around the country. They can scan 100's of plates in a matter of seconds. It seems a little invasive to me. What happened to the days an officer suspected something and manually ran your plate? Your guilty until proven innocent in my eyes. I know a lot of people will argue that if your not illegally driving or dont have warrants then no need to worry....but is this just one step closer to a police state? Whats next? Retinal scanners? I personally feel that we are slowly being relieved of our freedom under the guise of public safety and security.
I can see the good and the bad in this. the bad: yeah, its invasive. Its kinda like those photo radar vans, just a way to get revenue. BUT..... like you said " if your not illegally driving or dont have a warrant, there is nothing to worry about." Cops are not usually going to pull you over if nothing comes up after he pings you. If something comes up, then yeah, he has reason to stop you, even if you are not speeding. There are lots of bad people out there, and its getting harder and harder to keep up with theifs, and outlaws. this is just a way to condense the work, and TRY to keep the world a little more safe. Sure, everyonce in a while, you get those poor bastards whose registration expired yesterday, and they get popped. But thats life.
Widespread use of retinal scanners probably isn't close enough to be called 'next', but they're coming. So is a national DNA database, GPS enabled microchip implants, and who knows what other Orwellian nightmares we can't even conceive of right now. If it can happen, it will... all under the guise of making us more safe. Hopefully I'll be dead before most of it comes around.
I, for one, am tired of all the uninsured cars on the road. Why do I have to buy my own insurances to protect me from someone who won't buy insurance? Get the bums off the road. Probably won't make a difference as the insurance companies will just find another excuse to raise my rates..:down: As far as all the potential abuses with a automatic identity and tracking system....I'm afraid it's unstopable...better pay up those accumulated parking tickets!
Thats not true... my buddies Dad was in town over the holidays. He had a rental car from Enterprise. He drove by a cop, the lights went on, the cop pulled him over and questioned him for 10+ min. Turns out those plates were used during a robbery. The cop also said he has no choice in the matter... the system in the car scans the plates, and if there's a problem it automatically hits the lights. If he doesnt pull the car over he gets in trouble... Sooo, yeah I think the system is totally invasive and unlawful.
I think it's a good system when used properly. I'm confused a why a rental car company's plates are in a database that shows a robbery was commited with the car. Enterprise could have told the police who the car was rented to during that time. Calling bullshit on that one.
you can call bs if you want, but I work with the guy everyday and he was pretty pissed about it... *shrug* Its like if I told you a city in metro atl was putting out warrants and revoking licenses for tickets issued in 2002 and 2003, but they had ALREADY BEEN PAID, you'd call bs on that too, yet it happened to thousands of people in Dekalb a few weeks ago...
I think it's a great technology if used properly but like many things it can be used to overstep authority.
I always wondered how long it would be before they implemented a system where they could give you speeding tickets on the highway for being at two points within a certain period of time (tracking using things like EZPass or the above license plate detection).
The collection of public information doesn't concern me at all. The license plate on my vehicle is supposed to be clearly visible and in no way considered private information. I see a lot of vehicles with "masked" plates so that the cameras can't identify you as you blow through an intersection. I'm surprised they don't issue citations for it. To me it's like trying to hide your street address, who are you hiding from? When "they" make you implant your SSN chip into the thin layer of skin above your skull so that a magnetic reader can identify you where ever you are, THEN I will be concerned.
Please stop accepting the continual effort by government employees to take more and more from us so they can have more jobs and a better lifestyle. ffs.
We are, but not in the form of a license plate scanner. The license plate is public information used to check that the automobile is registered, lawfully operated, and to assist the officer in gaining insight into the possible driver of said vehicle. Glasses help the visually impaired see what they need to see. I think it's becoming hard to see the forrest for the trees in terms of personal freedom/privacy/personal identity and basic human rights. If a cop uses a radar detector to track your speed, is the officer gaining insight into your personal information about your speed or simply doing the job of accurately assessing your ability to follow the speed limit.
GMAFB with that personal freedom bullshit. This is a good fucking deal. License plates were designed to identify who you are and verify legality. Having a scanner makes this task more accurate, and can assist in solving crimes. Operating a vehicle is a priviledge, not a right.
