Posted on 07/22/2011 1:08:15 PM PDT by newzjunkey
Civil libertarians are raising the alarm over the state’s plans to create a Big Brother database that could map drivers’ whereabouts with police cruiser-mounted scanners that capture thousands of license plates per hour — storing that information indefinitely where local cops, staties, feds and prosecutors could access it as they choose...
The computerized scanners, known as Automatic License Plate Recognition devices, instantly check for police alerts, warrants, traffic violations and parking tickets, which cops say could be an invaluable tool in thwarting crime. The Executive Office of Public Safety has approved 27 grants totaling $500,000 to buy scanners for state police and 26 local departments. The purchases are on hold while state lawyers develop a policy for the use of a common state database all the scanners would feed.
EOPS spokesman Terrell Harris said the state wants the scanner information fed into the Public Safety Data Center, where local, state and federal authorities could access it.
“We’re currently working to develop a policy that balances the effective use of this powerful law enforcement tool with the privacy concerns we’re keenly aware of,” Harris said.
The ACLU’s Kade Crockford said the technology, which just allows a faster version of what police do now in running plates, is less of a concern than the state’s plans to store information on average, law-abiding citizens.
“People who aren’t wanted for a crime, all of their information is stored in a database that is shared with another government agency,” Crawford said. “The potential for abuse is very big. We don’t think people who haven’t committed a crime should be tracked by law enforcement.” ...
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonherald.com ...
see them in use on parking wars.
Could be used to forge forensic ‘proof’ of whereabouts too, whether as an alias or a frame.
“We don’t think people who haven’t committed a crime should be tracked by law enforcement.”
Gee, ya think?
They could easily program it to check for outstanding warrants, or whatever, and if NOTHING, toss the data into the bit bucket rather than save it anywhere. But nooooo. They want to store it just in case it’s one of those conservative domestic terrorists needing their dog shot.
I hope they paint bright bulls eyes on these turtle posts.
Don't tell me you're a recovering Z-80 programmer.
I read that term in the Zaks book on that Zilog processor...hilarious presentation and an excellent read.
Back in 1979 I thought 4 mHz was really flying.
Back in 1979, it was. The first Mac was 8 mHz in 1984.
Then they came out with a 16mHz model, and nobody could figure out what they were going to use all that speed for, LOL.
I think only submarines use milli-Hertz :-)
Some doctors in Mass have your driver’s license picture in your medical records. Above is just another database to link into the government’s data-web.
Yes, I consider medical records “government data” since govt. is using the data.
There is a difference between a “population” and citizens. We’ve become a population.
mHz is MEGAHERTZ, not milli-Hertz.
lowercase “m” is milli
Uppercase “M” is Mega.
My apology, you are correct.
The figure mentioned was supposed to be referring to computer speed and is in MHZ.
YOU were trying to show the user that mHZ meant milli, instead of ‘mega’, and I completely blew that.
My hat is off to you.
No harm, no foul.
We now return to our regular reactionary programming (VBEG)
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