One piece of high tech video surveillance equipment is the Automatic License Plate Readers, known sometimes as ALPRs, and they are having a big impact on certain law enforcement investigations. ALPRs are usually installed in fixed positions, such as traffic lights, bridges, tunnels, highways and of course on police cruisers. Most ALPR’s can record one license plate per second: That’s a lot faster than humans!
ALPRs allow law enforcement to spend a lot less manpower on searching for vehicles with warrants. ALPR’s can even find and deliver citations to those vehicles with out-of-date registrations too. As well, they can alert police to vehicles with too many past due citations.
In some areas of the U.S., like Washington DC, ALPR’s and high-definition video surveillance cameras are being installed on public service vehicles, such as school buses and street sweepers that make daily rounds through high crime neighborhoods. In New York, ALPRs are everywhere, including bridges and tunnels that lead out of the state, which has proved crucial in catching criminals.
But as helpful as ALPR’s are and can be, they are also just as controversial. The data that ALPR’s collects is documented and stored, which enables police and law enforcement to literally trace your every move: Where you live, where you work, where you go to eat, who you interact with, etc. ALPR’s give law enforcement a first-hand glimpse into your everyday life.
Regardless, ALPR’s are indeed part of the new wave of surveillance technology that will continue to play a role in our everyday lives.
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