Plano, Texas – In an ongoing initiative to bolster public safety, the Plano Police Department will incorporate the contentious usage of license plate reader cameras, a tool they assert plays an instrumental role in retrieving stolen vehicles and tracking down abducted minors.
The resolution to procure 40 units of the L5Q model and 10 of the L6Q Motorola’s deployable license plate reader cameras, complete with a five-year service guarantee, was greenlighted by the Plano City Council during a convocation held on May 22. The total outlay of this acquisition, disbursed annually, amounts to $100,000, leading to an aggregate sum of $500,000 expended over five years through a pre-existing contractual agreement.
In the Lone Star State, the introduction of such technology is not unprecedented, with cities like Dallas and Fort Worth having already incorporated analogous systems. These license plate reader cameras have ignited debates about privacy infringement; however, Plano law enforcement representatives uphold their value as indispensable assets in the realm of public safety.
“The Plano Police Department has been utilizing ALPR (automated license plate recognition) cameras mounted on vehicles for over a decade,” Plano police lieutenant Glenn Cavin told The Dallas Morning News. “They have since led directly to the recovery of stolen vehicles and the apprehension of many wanted suspects.”
Motorola Solutions’ L6Q reader combines “sophisticated license plate recognition (LPR) with consumer-grade ease of installation,” according to the company website, and the L5Q enables law enforcement to “receive real-time alerts, conduct comprehensive searches and leverage advanced analytics.”
In a memo dispatched to the City Council, the police department shed light on the inherent limitations of these vehicle-mounted systems. Data capture is largely dependent on the operational trajectories of first responder vehicles, and the actual seizure of suspect vehicles can be impeded when the identified vehicle is moving in an opposing direction.
Plano police to place the license plate readers on multiple locations
Calvin disclosed plans to introduce advanced surveillance systems, strategically installed on posts flanking thoroughfares and commercial parking zones. These locations, identified by crime analysts, have reportedly seen a higher prevalence of illicit actions.
These newly implemented surveillance mechanisms are designed to identify vehicles that have been flagged on state or local databases for their association with criminal undertakings, including those reported as stolen. Upon successful detection, the system is engineered to instantaneously issue alerts to all on-duty law enforcement officers, detectives, and supporting staff, thus enabling a rapid and strategic response to intervene in the burgeoning criminal activity.
This intelligence was gleaned from a City Council memorandum, although it lacked specific data. However, it did recount an instance where the police department in Plano successfully utilized the technology to apprehend perpetrators.
As part of the ongoing investigation, a portable License Plate Reader (LPR) camera, courtesy of Motorola, was installed in proximity to a public storage facility – a hotbed for trailer thefts. As the memo narrated, within hours of the installation, two male individuals were spotted driving their pickup truck into the location and were subsequently seen departing with a trailer that did not belong to them. Detectives were quick to access the visual data collected by the portable LPR camera, expediting the identification of the suspects.
Despite the promising aspects of this technology, its efficacy has been called into question by some researchers. According to a 2021 study by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, cameras linked to outdated databases – commonly referred to as ‘hot lists’ – have resulted in false positive alerts. The study further elaborated that plates registered out-of-state have also led to the generation of false positives, thereby highlighting some of the potential challenges that this technology presents.
Plano residents are concerned of license plate readers misuse and privacy
The prospect of misuse also looms over this advanced technology.
The advent of these sophisticated cameras has ignited a contentious debate on privacy concerns. A faction of observers has issued cautionary notes, suggesting that the power vested in the law enforcement agencies, through the use of such devices, could potentially be exploited to conduct comprehensive surveillance. Critics argue this could culminate in law enforcement’s capacity to monitor every movement of any individual at any given time, posing potential threats to the principles of individual privacy and civil liberty.
Is this legal at all? Of course there are privacy concerns, no one wants to feel being under sirveillance all the time… huge NO to this new policy