Police Use License Plate Readers: Privacy Violation?

That has been going on for years, and sorry to say it, but there is no such thing as privacy anymore, someone is seeing everything we do. They have satellites in space that can read license plates, or inspections stickers. So next time you feel that you are being watched it is because you are.

The only people that think it is a Privacy Violation are people that have something to hide or might want to hide. If you did not do anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.

I don't see why not. If you got nothing to hide..Whats the problem? It helps find stolen cars a occasional criminal and drug dealers. It's not like it's inside your house watching you get dress.

Where's is their probable cause? This is an invasion of privacy.

It is an infringement on Liberty

I don't see the problem. License plates have been visible since the beginning!?

It sure as hell beats the "old fashion" way.



"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety" Benjamin Franklin

Doncha know? Obama says its allll riiight...soooo...lets drop our drawers and show our IDs boys.

I do not see why not. Could deter plate or car thieves and help people catch those with warrants. Not to mention if there is am Amber alert on the vehicle.

Exactly how do they keep us safe? By making it easier to charge us money?

Personally, I'm against requiring license plates to begin with. Any level of security that could be provided by requiring them is negated by the fact that it turns into a tax itself, and allows for more fines to be placed on the owner of the car.

I could understand them as long as they are limited to cases with probable cause, but that'll never be the case. Just limit police to typing in, and looking up records of cars, or only allow them to look up cars with outstanding warrants, or are suspected to be involved in a crime.

helps them track and find people doing things illegal plus its nothing new here in the UK, its been in use for a while and all the system has on it is about your insurance, points on your licence etc so if you don't want them to be looking into you don't do anything stupid

want to know who is funding the readers on the Police Cars THE INSURANCE Companies you have expired Insurance they will ticket you. It is also a Money raiser for the Police and Insurance Companies

I dont totally understand what this is. can someone please explain it to me?

The discussion is about an electronic device, (there's several kinds) similar to a bar code scanner like at your grocery store that police officers, others, like parking enforcement can use while driving and "read" your license plate number and gain access to a database that reveals more information like registered owner's name, address, if or not there's outstanding warrants for criminal violations, outstanding parking tickets, stuff like that.

Some think that is by some crazy stretch a violation of their privacy. Most realize it is simply another tool, and that public streets are PUBLIC and you using them are foolish to expect any kind of privacy.

Sitting down? There's many things far worse as far as violation of your privacy. For a few hundred dollars you can buy other kinds of scanners/readers that can wirelessly pickup and read your credit card information, listen in on your cellphone, drive past your house and learn what web sites your connected to and read all your passwords on your computer.

Shocked? Why, its the electronic revolution and NOTHING is private. Right now, your name, everything about you, your family, you credit history, job history, marriage records, debt, law suits, you total financial history, EVERYTHING is known and stored in multiple databases easily accessed or oops hacked into.

What you do when you go out in public is not private. So if you are driving down the street, that's not private behavior. A license plate reader is just recording something you did in public.

They do exist.. everywhere... Big brother IS Watching you.

In Vegas, they are interconnected, and can interlace to follow an individual everywhere he/she goes - even down the streets!

Plate Readers are totally bogus... they allow the cops to go "Hunting".

Plate reasders are paid for by the Insurance COmpanies not Safety Fund Raising

Plate Readers mounted on cop cars, are NOT paid for by insurance companies! and those readers alert the police of cars that have violations, warrants, or belong to persons the cops are looking for...

Police routinely drive down rows of parked cars scanning plates with the readers, looking for revenue building citations.

they are funded by the Insurance Companies Last Black Friday they ran down the Parking lots at South Shore Plaza to catch insurance violators.

It's them against us and it's only gonna get much worse.

For 10-20 dollars you can buy a device which screws over your license plate and makes it unreadable from cameras above, looking down. Looks completely normal from eye level ie a copper following you. But a camera picture from above will just show a blank box. Of course, coppers don't like having their efforts to invade your privacy thwarted, so you better check with your friendly state criminal authorities, to be sure you aren't breaking any of the plethora of laws designed to make you feel safer as the friendly neighborhood cop devises ways to haul you off to jail and hit you with enormous fines.

Check your state laws those plate covers are Illegal

Totally a breach on our freedoms. Democrats have to realize that this is what they should expect when they vote for democrats. In the name of protecting many, they attack the individual. They want huge government & the only way to feed this huge government is to litterly steal from the people. This is the reason why they ticket totally legally parked vehicles is cause they know that most would have to miss a day of work to fight it & most just say screw it & pay it. What's next they'll do random home searches?

"Public Safety". These days, that only elicits a good laugh from self.
It's more of an oxymoron than anything else, "Public Safety".

Out of the choices given I have to choose Privacy Violation even though I don't see it as such license plate readers aren't needed for "public safety" either. If anything they were purchased to increase revenue.

Total privacy violation.

License plates are in public records. Most people who bitch about it want to avoid tickets for their lousy driving habits and let drunk drivers and serial killers literally get away with murder.

Heres a little story that may change you're mind, Philly has had this a while. My mom on Christmas eve is legally parked, the reader comes by & boots & tows her car, traffic court isn't open for the next week & a half (they charge $39 per day, $300 for the tow, $150 in other b.s) she's forced to pay all them fees before you ever see a judge, turns out that the judge was away for the next 2 weeks. All and all, gets in front of the judge & they discover that the plate # was coming back affiliated to a person who my family never knew & the judge threw out the case, problem was that the city had auctioned off the car earlier that morning. Never got the car back (worth $8k) A few weeks later she received a letter from the city saying that her car was abandon in west Philly & ordered that she have it towed away by a private tow company. She meets a tow driver down there (bad neighborhood) he hooks up the car which is up on cider blocks & a group of people (I assume whoever purchased it at the auction) came running out of the house & beat the tow guy with baseball bats!

And that has to do with catch violators with video cameras how? Sue the city for 50 Kilobucks.

Public Records go down to your Local Police and ask for a run on a Tag they wil not do it

Exactly!

Thank you Mister FIne How is Moe and Curly ?

Doing just fine (no pun intended!!).

ok How ard are you Pun Intented LOL TY for he smile

Nyuck, Nyuck!!!

I fill out the proper form at DMV I always get a name.

yeah tell the state most states will not give Private Citizens that info

No difference between using a computer eye, and using a human eye.

This is tantamount to an unwarranted search. If I'm not speeding or doing something to warrant a cop snooping on me, then it shouldn't be happening.