LPR has never faced a tougher road
License plate reader (LPR) technology has proven to be a powerful crime fighter and force multiplier but it's now facing challenges that threaten to derail its effectiveness. Civil liberty advocates are denouncing the equipment as overly invasive, and citizens who once trusted government have, for various reasons, begun to question whether authorities are going too far. Agencies around the country are now defending their programs in legislative chambers or courtrooms. Some LPR programs have been severely restricted, suspended or even outright eliminated.
It would be easy to rail against those who condemn law enforcement's use of LPR as uninformed malcontents who don't understand what we really do. However, it's time for a reality check: We better get our act together or we're likely to see the use of LPR and the resulting data severely limited.
What They Say
Let's start with understanding the position of those who want to restrict LPR. Generally, there's little opposition to using LPR to check for wanted vehicles. It's after the plate is checked and the resulting record is stored that the controversy begins.
Most agencies retain all LPR reads because the information can prove invaluable in subsequent investigations. This results in large amounts of data with minimal crime nexus, prompting claims of privacy violation. Privacy advocates assert policies are inadequate or non-existent regarding retention periods and use of data, thereby setting up the possibility of misuse of the information. Finally, they have pointed out that some agencies fail to act on LPR alerts and question the real intent of the program. They infer that checking for wanted vehicles is simply a shill to gather data on the travels of innocent citizens.
Here are the core issues: policy, retention, relevance of data and responsible use with accountability.
Policy: State the purpose of your program, requirements for operating the equipment, expected action for alerts, who can access data and the retention period. Limit LPR queries to official purpose and conduct periodic audit and metric assessment to ensure a solid program.
Retention: Probably the biggest area of contention, but there is no clearly defined acceptable retention period. You must consider applicable laws (if any), agency mission, system limitations and the norm for your area. Now balance these with public tolerance and trust. This area is the responsibility of management. But the discussion should involve investigators, a legal advisor and IT staff.
Relevance of data: Here's an area where system improvement could increase operational effectiveness and public acceptance. Crime often involves vehicles and that's why LPR is so powerful. Current systems don't factor crime relevance and require large-scale holding of data, fueling privacy concerns. Agencies can work with their vendors to change this. Crime reports document time and location. Establish a threshold of crime severity that warrants retention of data, then set appropriate time and radius parameters to identify LPR data with potential relevance to those crimes.
This data can legitimately be retained up to the statute of limitations on the crime. (Consider this non-tech parallel: A supervisor at a major crime scene directs a wide-area documentation of all vehicles; this list of plates at a given time and location is retained indefinitely because one of those hundreds of vehicles may have relevance to the case.)
Use and accountability: Limiting access and maintaining audit capability is already a requirement for many criminal justice databases so this shouldn't surprise anyone. However, some LPR systems have inadequate audit functions or departments utilize a universal log-in that renders an audit useless. Check this, talk to your vendor and get it done.
Finally, maintain relevant alert lists that are worth an officer's engagement. Review whether those alerts are being acted upon and develop metrics that will demonstrate your system's effectiveness. Make sure your investigators understand the power of LPR information and document their successes to underscore the value of your program.
In Sum
LPR works and we've got to be part of the solution to the privacy concerns or we're going to see one of our best tools rendered useless. Don't wait until you're in the crosshairs to take action.
