News: License Plate Scanners

The Washington Post reported on Sunday that the District of Columbia is engaging in widespread tracking of citizen’s movements using automated license plate readers (ALPRs). According to the Post, the D.C. police:

• Are running more than one ALPR per square mile;
• Are planning on sharply increasing the density of these devices until they form a “comprehensive dragnet;”
• Retain the time/date/location/tag number even of innocent people for whom nothing is found to be wrong;
• Store that data in a database for three years.

It has now become clear that this technology, if we do not limit its use, will represent a significant step toward the creation of a surveillance society in the United States.