Should Cedar Rapids police employ license plate scanners?
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Administrative Secretary and Equipment Manager Nicole Reck and new Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman look over Jerman's uniform closet at the Cedar Rapids Police Department on Friday November 2, 2012. (Justin Torner/Freelance)
Almost three years after red-light and speed enforcement cameras debuted in Cedar Rapids, the city’s new police chief plans to push for cameras that automatically scan license plates.
In a wide-ranging interview Friday with The Gazette’s editorial board, Police Chief Wayne Jerman said he expects to approach the City Council about license plate readers. He said he does not have a timeline about when he might bring up the topic to city leaders.
The technology consists of cameras mounted on patrol cars that capture license plate information. The information is then compared to a database and alerts officers instantaneously if, for example, the vehicle has been reported stolen or registered owner has an outstanding arrest warrant. Officers have been able to manually input plate information for years, but this automates the process.
What do you think of the technology? Should Cedar Rapids police be allowed to use license plate scanners as part of law enforcement investigations?
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Simply put, it is an invasion of privacy (3rd, 4th and 5th amendments) , no one knows how long the police can track you or for what purpose. To assume this technology will only be used as specified, only gives those who would use it for other purposes the opportunity and the means to use it other wise. If the police want to check a license plate, they can look it up, it was good enough in the past, it is good enough now.
Sorry, Steve, but this proposal is not an invasion of anybody’s privacy. That license plate is out there in plain sight.
Besides that, Amendment III has to do with quartering soldiers in people’s houses without their permission and is irrelevant to this situation. Amendment V has to do with rights in criminal cases. It kicks in after you are arrested, not before. Amendment IV deals with search and seizure and is relevant, but like I said, that license plate is hanging out there in plain sight
To those law abiding citizens who have nothing to hide. License plate scanners not only check to see if you are a bad guy, but they also record the date, time, and location of the scan. The privacy issue is how long is this data saved and who gets access to it. There is no real reason to save the scanned data if there are no hits or crimes associated with the scanned license plate. The other issue is if the data is saved, how long do they keep it. The more data that is saved, the greater the risk of it being abused by the people who have the power and make the rules.
Steve, the objections you raise also apply to the current system hand entering the data. Is there a problem with the current system? If there is not then why would you assume that there would be one with a faster and more accurate way of checking to see if there are any problems with the car or person attached to that plate?