Hmmm..some new police technology???

[Obliviax]

A very good source, a prosecutor, told me this afternoon that the police are getting devices put on the bumpers of their cars that will create an image of every car's license plate and run a scan on it. He told me, today, the process can run 1,000 license plates a minute.

The local police already have some installed, and will be completely installed by labor day.

He said they plan to go to a parking lot, say a Target, and run every car in the lost in a couple of minutes. If you've got anything outstanding, a parking ticket, car will be towed. A prior could get you a stop and search.

Not sure if I should be happy or afraid!

 

[slwlion]

A very good source, a prosecutor, told me this afternoon that the police are getting devices put on the bumpers of their cars that will create an image of every car's license plate and run a scan on it. He told me, today, the process can run 1,000 license plates a minute.

The local police already have some installed, and will be completely installed by labor day.

He said they plan to go to a parking lot, say a Target, and run every car in the lost in a couple of minutes. If you've got anything outstanding, a parking ticket, car will be towed. A prior could get you a stop and search.

Not sure if I should be happy or afraid!

Been around for awhile.. License plate readers.. Being contested in court in some states.

 

[massimoManca II]

More to it than finding scofflaws - it's raw data aggregation ... Plate data with corresponding location goes into deep storage... Can be useful much later on during investigations/verify alibis etc

 

[mmp121]

Been around for awhile.. License plate readers.. Being contested in court in some states.

Yep, been in use for some time now, at least a couple years.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2013/07/17/license-plate-scanners-aclu-privacy/2524939/

 

[BLSLion]

A very good source, a prosecutor, told me this afternoon that the police are getting devices put on the bumpers of their cars that will create an image of every car's license plate and run a scan on it. He told me, today, the process can run 1,000 license plates a minute.

The local police already have some installed, and will be completely installed by labor day.

He said they plan to go to a parking lot, say a Target, and run every car in the lost in a couple of minutes. If you've got anything outstanding, a parking ticket, car will be towed. A prior could get you a stop and search.

Not sure if I should be happy or afraid!

I like it, but then I live a pretty clean life. I stay within boundaries of the law; with the exception of the speed limit, which I never stray over 10mph of that. Now, if you are one of those who fears the NSA, you should definitely be fearing this technology.

 

[PennStateNate]

I don't see the big deal, if the Police feel this will make their job safer or make them more aware of who is out there, then I am all for it. Like BLS said, no issue if you have nothing to hide.

 

[LionDeNittany]

Yeah, this is why Texas plates went to the new format a couple of years ago. All white background with bold black letters.

 

[LionDeNittany]

I don't see the big deal, if the Police feel this will make their job safer or make them more aware of who is out there, then I am all for it. Like BLS said, no issue if you have nothing to hide.

Has nothing to do with making their job safer. It has to do with revenue.

 

[Ten Thousan Marbles]

A very good source, a prosecutor, told me this afternoon that the police are getting devices put on the bumpers of their cars that will create an image of every car's license plate and run a scan on it. He told me, today, the process can run 1,000 license plates a minute.

The local police already have some installed, and will be completely installed by labor day.

He said they plan to go to a parking lot, say a Target, and run every car in the lost in a couple of minutes. If you've got anything outstanding, a parking ticket, car will be towed. A prior could get you a stop and search.

Not sure if I should be happy or afraid!

Around for awhile and probably good for terrorism, kidnap, murder investigations and such.

Not so useful for street level drug deals. The dealers have been way ahead of that one for years, primarily due to confiscation laws. Very often, street level dealing is done via foot of bicycle. They like their cars and want to keep them. Kids from affluent neighborhoods will still conduct business via car, though, reasoning that dad or mom will just get them a new one if push comes to shove.

 

[rudedude]

This is getting very creepy. C'mon now. This is invasion of privacy of the first order. Having your data scanned and kept for who knows how long and how it will be used!!! Read the posted article and see how few hits for problem vehicles occurred. Big Brother is watching even closer now. The next step is privatization of state and local police forces. When this happens, watch out, just like the prison system. Not good at all. The attached article is also troublesome.

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-attorney-general-bans-asset-seizure-by-local-police-2015-1

 

[KnightSlayer]

I don't see the big deal, if the Police feel this will make their job safer or make them more aware of who is out there, then I am all for it. Like BLS said, no issue if you have nothing to hide.

Unless the information is abused. Stalker cops. Political hacks.

Are you guys familiar with the stingray technology. FBI has been using it and selling it to local cops for over a decade although the local cops must sign a nondisclosure agreement. Turn it on and any cell phone in range gets rerouted through the device before going to a legitimate cell phone tower. Can intercept calls, texts and other cell phone data without your knowledge. I know a guy selling a device that detects whatever device your cell phone is connecting to and tell you whether or not it is legit.

 

[BLSLion]

Has nothing to do with making their job safer. It has to do with revenue.

There is more to it than that; the system is constantly collecting data. If there is a rash of burglaries, or other crimes, across an area, they can search the database to see what plates have been picked up in those areas at those specific times. This can provide a huge lead in finding the criminals.

Go back 13 years ago to the DC sniper, if the car they had been using had been scanned in the various areas where the shootings had been taking place, they may have been able to catch them quicker.

 

[Obliviax]

Has nothing to do with making their job safer. It has to do with revenue.

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-attorney-general-bans-asset-seizure-by-local-police-2015-1[/QUOTE]

I use twitter a lot and they commonly send me unsolicited tweets based on my reading patterns....scary. Then just read where Wisconsin police broke down a families front door for advocating for a specific political party. Add onto that, the recent IRS events and you've got some tools to do quite a bit of damage to the Republic.

 

[KnightSlayer]

I don't see the big deal, if the Police feel this will make their job safer or make them more aware of who is out there, then I am all for it. Like BLS said, no issue if you have nothing to hide.

Unless the information is abused. Stalker cops. Political hacks.

Are you guys familiar with the stingray technology. FBI has been using it and selling it to local cops for over a decade although the local cops must sign a nondisclosure agreement. Turn it on and any cell phone in range gets rerouted through the device before going to a legitimate cell phone tower. Can intercept calls, texts and other cell phone data without your knowledge. I know a guy selling a device that detects whatever device your cell phone is connecting to and tell you whether or not it is legit.

 

[The Spin Meister]

More big brother abuse. Like the IRS scandal, it will be used for nefarious purposes. Local cop spies on ex-girl friend. Local mayor/official spies on political rival. Feds use it to blackmail people into preferred behaviors.

Strange how cops hate being recorded yet they can spy on us all they want. Time to start filming every cop all day long. Look into their finances, check out if they cheat on spouses, gamble, patronize strip clubs, eat free donuts. If they complain about the intrusive 'data collection' tell them its just a good way to catch and prevent bad cops.

Same with government officials that promote such programs. Good for the goose...good for the gander.

 

[pmjoe]

A very good source, a prosecutor, told me this afternoon that the police are getting devices put on the bumpers of their cars that will create an image of every car's license plate and run a scan on it. He told me, today, the process can run 1,000 license plates a minute.

The local police already have some installed, and will be completely installed by labor day.

He said they plan to go to a parking lot, say a Target, and run every car in the lost in a couple of minutes. If you've got anything outstanding, a parking ticket, car will be towed. A prior could get you a stop and search.

Not sure if I should be happy or afraid!

A Target parking lot is most likely private property. I can't imagine Target allowing that sort of activity on their premises without a warrant. A public parking lot or street parking would be another matter. Come to our store and you might get towed/searched/arrested would not make for good business.

The reality is that there's a lot of technology out there that can grab your license plate number from this type of camera, to the red light cameras, the toll lane cameras, the parking meter persons' devices, and more.

Add in some facial recognition technology and leaving the mobile phone at home will make no difference - our every move may become tracked.

 

[Cletus11]

If used for truly altruistic reasons to catch the real bad guys (thieves, rapist, murder, armed robbery, etc...) than OK. But using it to put a boot on a car with some unpaid tickets is just taxation and revenue generation. No different than read light cameras or radar speeding traps with no cops and automatic tickets. They do not make things safer, they just give out tickets so the cops can keep their pensions. Too much lately this type of information has been both abused and hacked. Show me a way to make 99.9999% sure that it won't be abused and I am all for it, but we all know that is not true.

 

[Blueblood4eva]

Did you ever know an HR secretary that didn't peak at all of the salaries and share a certain few? Nefarious is a way of life in the real world. Stay out of my business!

 

[Ranger Dan]

I was a passenger during a road trip for work and my coworker was pulled over because the letters on his plate were unreadable. I assumed that it was just that the cop couldn't see the plate's numbers/letters with his own eyes, but it could easily have bee via a plate reader that is mentioned here.

I don't have problem with this. I met a cop earlier this summer who told a story about running plates in the walmart parking lot at midnight. Usually its just for small stuff. but this time it was a wanted felon. Law abiding people have nothing to fear.

 

[trz103]

My problem with this stuff is all of your information is then stored in a database that is easily compromised from the surging incidences of hacking

 

[nits74]

I was a passenger during a road trip for work and my coworker was pulled over because the letters on his plate were unreadable. I assumed that it was just that the cop couldn't see the plate's numbers/letters with his own eyes, but it could easily have bee via a plate reader that is mentioned here.

I don't have problem with this. I met a cop earlier this summer who told a story about running plates in the walmart parking lot at midnight. Usually its just for small stuff. but this time it was a wanted felon. Law abiding people have nothing to fear.

Yeah, right. This is just yet another step toward the police state we're headed toward. Think what you may, but this is a slippery slope and Snowden has a point.

 

[Ranger Dan]

another step toward the police state we're headed toward

I guess you aren't really paranoid if everyone really is out to get you.

The next thing you know, they will be able to identify people by the uniqueness of each of our fingerprints.... It's 1984 all over again.

 

[ForesterGump]

We had cops that used to go into bar parking lots and mark the tires. That way they could see if your car had been moved and how long you've been in the bar. The bar owner kicked the cops off the property. Plate readers could make it so much easier to find out how long you've been in a bar. How long would it be until they think you will be a DUI? Will they come to your house later and do a breath test?

I saw on the news that PA is going to do away with the registration sticker on your plate. The police don't like that, since no registration sticker gives them a reason to pull you over. They say they make quite a few arrests using that process. Studies find that they don't. Why are they looking for more reasons to find out what people are doing? We already have nearly the highest incarceration rate in the world.

 

[Nashville Lion]

A very good source, a prosecutor, told me this afternoon that the police are getting devices put on the bumpers of their cars that will create an image of every car's license plate and run a scan on it. He told me, today, the process can run 1,000 license plates a minute.

The local police already have some installed, and will be completely installed by labor day.

He said they plan to go to a parking lot, say a Target, and run every car in the lost in a couple of minutes. If you've got anything outstanding, a parking ticket, car will be towed. A prior could get you a stop and search.

Not sure if I should be happy or afraid!

That technology has been around and being used....especially in border areas.

 

[CDW3333]

Around for awhile and probably good for terrorism, kidnap, murder investigations and such.

Not so useful for street level drug deals. The dealers have been way ahead of that one for years, primarily due to confiscation laws. Very often, street level dealing is done via foot of bicycle. They like their cars and want to keep them. Kids from affluent neighborhoods will still conduct business via car, though, reasoning that dad or mom will just get them a new one if push comes to shove.

I don't know about that. I recently dropped my car off for a state inspection and oil change. I was waiting outside the shop for my son to pick me up when a Lincoln Navigator with blacked out windows pulled into the parking lot across the street. The driver's side window came down about two inches. In the next five minutes a half-dozen people came up and each passed something into the vehicle and received a small package in return. Then it drove off.

 

[jim cummings]

I don't know about that. I recently dropped my car off for a state inspection and oil change. I was waiting outside the shop for my son to pick me up when a Lincoln Navigator with blacked out windows pulled into the parking lot across the street. The driver's side window came down about two inches. In the next five minutes a half-dozen people came up and each passed something into the vehicle and received a small package in return. Then it drove off.

Maybe dude was just selling his new mixtape.

 

[PSU87]

Not sure which frightens me more....a government that thinks it's ok to do things like this, or as evidenced in this thread, people that are fine with it.

"If you don't do anything wrong you don't have to worry about it " is the perfect path to a police state.

The civil forfeiture laws are already an abomination of the principles this country was founded on. Innocent until proven guilty? Not so much anymore.

 

[LionJim]

Not sure which frightens me more....a government that thinks it's ok to do things like this, or as evidenced in this thread, people that are fine with it.

"If you don't do anything wrong you don't have to worry about it " is the perfect path to a police state.

The civil forfeiture laws are already an abomination of the principles this country was founded on. Innocent until proven guilty? Not so much anymore.

I understand your point, I really do. But, honestly, we really have to worry about domestic terrorism and do everything we can to prevent things like Chattanooga from happening, not saying that Chattanooga was preventable. Yes, it's scary, yes, it reeks of Big Brother, yes, it gives the government a certain control (for lack of a better word) over our lives, and it can be argued that it makes us less free. But we really need to crack down on the crazies and make sure that what can be prevented is prevented, and if it's not prevented, make sure that whoever is responsible is made to pay. Maybe I lack imagination, and maybe I'm underestimating the risk in this, which you allude to, but right now I'm at a lack for a better alternative.

The civil forfeiture laws go way, way beyond this, though, you're right, they're an abomination.

 

[PSU87]

Jim, wasn't directed at you, and apologize if it appeared as such.

The public safety aspect I understand. I'm for giving law enforcement the tools they need to do their jobs. My dad is retired PA State Police, so I have a healthy respect for the job they do.

My problem with it is the Big Brother aspect, and the fact that all this data is in the hands of flawed human beings. While we all have the best intentions, we are all human with the associated jealousies and frailties of human beings.

As an example, the City Council politics of the small town I live in are very, very heated. Recently, one outspoken critic of the sitting council was fired from his job because his employer was mailed copy of a police report where he was arrested for DUI. It was a copy of the actual police report, and could have come only from a city source.

So imagine, with this system, you get into a dispute with your city employee neighbor over hedge trimming. Your neighbor has access to all this data that Big Brother has been collecting. Your neighbor notes that your car is in the parking lot of the local strip club every Tuesday night when your wife thinks you're bowling with your buddies. A quick, anonymous drop in the mail, and now you're in divorce court.

That individuals will find a way to abuse the data is inevitable.

Ben Franklin said it best "Those who give up their liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty, nor safety."

Wooh boy, this is destined for the test board .

 

[jim cummings]

As long as humans exist the threat will always be there. The minute people become paranoid, the enemy wins.

The likelihood of these catastrophes happening are one in a gazillion.

Live your life. You're not a target.

 

[LionJim]

Jim, wasn't directed at you, and apologize if it appeared as such..

No worries whatsoever. It's a real complicated issue with no easy answers. I'm always glad to read nuanced posts such as yours and I don't claim to be right about this.

 

[The Spin Meister]

Jim, wasn't directed at you, and apologize if it appeared as such.

The public safety aspect I understand. I'm for giving law enforcement the tools they need to do their jobs. My dad is retired PA State Police, so I have a healthy respect for the job they do.

My problem with it is the Big Brother aspect, and the fact that all this data is in the hands of flawed human beings. While we all have the best intentions, we are all human with the associated jealousies and frailties of human beings.

As an example, the City Council politics of the small town I live in are very, very heated. Recently, one outspoken critic of the sitting council was fired from his job because his employer was mailed copy of a police report where he was arrested for DUI. It was a copy of the actual police report, and could have come only from a city source.

So imagine, with this system, you get into a dispute with your city employee neighbor over hedge trimming. Your neighbor has access to all this data that Big Brother has been collecting. Your neighbor notes that your car is in the parking lot of the local strip club every Tuesday night when your wife thinks you're bowling with your buddies. A quick, anonymous drop in the mail, and now you're in divorce court.

That individuals will find a way to abuse the data is inevitable.

Ben Franklin said it best "Those who give up their liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty, nor safety."

Wooh boy, this is destined for the test board .

-----
This is much bigger than that. Imagine a Mayor needs city council to pass his policy. Gets some data about a married councilman frequenting a strip club. Bingo, he gets the vote. Or a developer needs approval of his big project, pays off someone to get data on council or a zoning officer and gets approval. Maybe a state worker union boss wants a raise for union members, finds out the governor spends a lot of time at an illegal gambling sight.

How about a major drug dealer gets data on the police lieutenant or chief he can use. The possibilities are endless.

Information=power and power corrupts.

 

[LionJim]

-----
This is much bigger than that. Imagine a Mayor needs city council to pass his policy. Gets some data about a married councilman frequenting a strip club. Bingo, he gets the vote. Or a developer needs approval of his big project, pays off someone to get data on council or a zoning officer and gets approval. Maybe a state worker union boss wants a raise for union members, finds out the governor spends a lot of time at an illegal gambling sight.

How about a major drug dealer gets data on the police lieutenant or chief he can use. The possibilities are endless.

Information=power and power corrupts.

Huh. Didn't see that one coming. Huh. Well, it gives me something to think about.

 

[The Spin Meister]

Huh. Didn't see that one coming. Huh. Well, it gives me something to think about.

-----
look at Bill Cosby. He brought up some legitimate issues about young black culture that disturbed the PC crowd. Boom! Suddenly, sealed court documents get released about a totally different issue and bang...end of discussion. This will happen a lot when the gov gets too much info on every single living citizen.

Dare to speak up against the government? Everything thing you ever did, every email, every internet post, every phone call, every place you've ever been will be scrutinized. You will need to be Mother Teresa to speak up.....end they would have found some dirt on her!

 

[ILLINOISLION]

Well, if Big Bro has ANY INTEREST in me he'll be bored to death. Let's see: 1) I belong to a country club but also go to Wal-Mart and Target. 2) I actually get my hair cut at a Great Clips. 3) I drive a CR-V. 4) I'm cordial with my -ex wife of 18 years. 5) I was a Penn State football season ticket holder for close to 30 years. 6) I've owned three basset hounds - two from a rescue organization. 7) I go both ways: Hagen-Das and Ben & Jerry's. 8) I was born in Philadelphia. 9) I play bridge. 10) I have a warped sense of humor.

Not even the IBM computer that was on Jeopardy could figure out any way to mess with me more than I've messed with me!

 

[LionJim]

I've learned a lot on this thread, there's a lot I've read which makes me way uneasy. What I've seen described is some seriously troubling stuff . But I'm of the opinion that 9/11 would not have occurred if the security measure we currently see were in effect back then, just 0% it would have gone down, I think. I'm not blaming anyone, security is an ongoing evolutionary process and 9/11 showed that there some components of the system intended to prevent these sort of things which didn't work, obviously. I don't think any of us would consider this consistently encroaching shadow of Big Brother to be a good thing, but it's an ugly, ugly world we live in. I've mentioned that I may lack the imagination to recognize and comprehend the inherent dangers of what we're seeing here, but we've all seen 9/11, no imagination needed there. We can't let these evil people win. We need to do it better, sure, we need to be vigilant against the kind of retaliatory stuff we saw in this thread, and we need to have a Congress which will keep on top of this. I originally mentioned that I was a Dem and removed it because I recognized that this particular factor was irrelevant. The concerns we've seen in this thread are shared by both the Right and Left, as one would expect.