I’m assuming those pretty limited, since they still need you to empty your pockets for them to work, and even then, they aren’t as effective at searching as a firm hand in a nitrite glove is. In any case, you have to basically walk into a very specific spot for them to work at all (compared to the infra-red cameras that some countries use to check your temperature when you go through customs. those mostly only recall that they have a clear view of each person as they walk past.)
When an airport terminal scanner is able to tell me if I should go see an oncologist, that will be a pretty thorough search.
Might be a good idea to keep track of what cars show up where and when. If someone is hanging around an address where they don’t live or work, they may be up to something!
I kind of guessed that some kind of technology would be rolled out re: license plates soon.
By me, I see about one in ten cars with some sort of glue-stick obscurant on their tags. The glue is clear, but road dirt isn’t. It sticks to the glue and it makes the plate harder to read, especially at night. When called on it, I’m sure the driver is all set with a
“but its just a dirty plate & I’ve been meaning to get that car washed, Your Honor” defense.
That it sticks in a manner that makes a “V” look like a “U” or a “U” look like an “O” is just an unusual coincidence. :rolleyes:
What’s to understand? Civil liberties include a right to privacy. What should be private? My walk to the grocery store? Privacy needs to be enforced on private property, mine, other people’s, and private establishments - except where private establishments have decided to set up surveillance, such as the gas station, where notice is posted and people can choose whether they wish to use that gas station if they do not wish to be videoed. There is no guarantee of privacy in a public place. I think it’s silly to expect it. I absolutely am fine with pickpockets and muggers and crazy sumbitches being videoed while they commit crimes in public areas. If I happen by a few frames while they’re being watched, why does it matter? If a crime is committed on me, would I rather a picture of the criminals face be recorded?
You’re right. I don’t understand civil liberties. Please explain it to me in a way I’ll understand. Tell me how I’ll feel safer if all the cameras on the CTA are taken down, along with the ones outside the stations, where the pickpockets and beggars hang out.
I have no problem with saving license plate data in that example. As a reminder, post 5 described that a city was using the technology to identify parked cars in a neighborhood and then checking that list against the list of those with residential parking permits. For the cars that don’t have residential permits, the system would check if the car was still parked after two hours, which is the limit for non-residential parking. It’s an efficient way to ensure that someone doesn’t abuse the two-hour limit.
DA’s can NOT issue search warrants, only a Judge/Magistrate can do that. While it is constitutionally permissable to have a person other than a Judge issue an arrest warrant for Municiapal violations, ONLY a JUDGE can sign a SW, period.
Refusal to submit to a breath test is not “in and of itself” a Constitutional reason to issue a SW.
I’d rather have this system than the system in place in Colorado Springs. The court date was 10 days after my ticket and I didn’t go since I wasn’t going to fight it but I had to wait until my next payday to pay my speeding ticket (10 mph over). Coincidently on my payday (Thank God for direct deposit) the cops came to my house about 30 min after I left for work and hand an arrest warrant to Mrs. Cad in front of my son. Then I took my break at about 9am to go downtown to pay the ticket, missing the police by about 15 minutes who came by my work to arrest me.
Understand, all of this was for driving 10 mph over and took place within 30 days of the original ticket. I know someone will talk about having to show up to court, explain my financial situation to the court or get an extention (which was denied when I tried over the phone). The point being I knew there was a bench warrant out but was it serious enough to arrest me in front of my kid or students?
I wonder if all these people who protest are also the same maniacs who drive at dangerously high speeds, run stop signs and red lights, don’t know what a turn signal is and turn left quickly at a green light in front of oncoming traffic.
I’ve been around sporadically the last year or so. I missed this thread when it originally popped up. Although I am no longer in the same position, I used to drive our one car that had the plate reader on it. Feel free to ask any questions.
Truthfully, honestly…what “other” information does this system compile on an individual other than to show an officer whether or not the car in question is tied to a person with outstanding warrants? Is there an extensive database of some kind being compiled on every single person the system records data on? Is everything the system records saved? Would an officer be able to see that the person had been convicted of priors and decide to just arbitrarily pull someone over that had nothing current against them just to “check up on them”?
Technology creep is unstoppable. Its available and cops will use it. We’re getting closer and closer to Orwellian society every year.
If your great grandson drops a candy wrapper on the ground in 2111 camera sensors will detect the criminal infraction. Robots will emerge from niches in the walls to hand him a ticket and pick up the litter. Society will congratulate itself on the efficiency of its policing and superior technology.
I’m sure that there are various computer programs across the country and each state has their own rules. I can only speak of the system we use and the NJ Attorney General guidelines for its use. We only have it on one car.
As I drove around with it on it would be just one of the programs running on my computer. Absolutely no information would show for any vehicles unless there was an alert on the plate. Nothing at all. If there was a warrant or a stolen vehicle I would get an audio warning “high alert”. If it was something like an expired registration or suspension it would say “medium alert”. It still does not give any information. It just shows a picture of the plate so you can confirm that it read it right. As per the AG it is not enough for probable cause to pull over the vehicle. At that point I would look up the plate the old way directly through DMV and NCIC. If the hit is valid then I would pull over the vehicle or whatever the situation calls for. On our system it is impossible to look up priors or anything else. Also it is not a live system. If it talked to DMV directly it would be way too slow. So it downloads a “hot list” of plates that have violations. That list is kept in the hard drive until updated. So sometimes it would give a bad hit. If someone took care of their warrant or restored their license since the last download it wouldn’t show up. So it just doesn’t sense to pull anyone over before checking anyway. Oh and our system didn’t do out of state plates. Its a decent tool but not perfect.
The rest of your question is something I know only from the outside. The system does keep a record of plates. Its not exactly easy to get information from that database unless you are looking for a specific plate. It doesn’t track people like Big Brother. Only a few people on the department have access to that part of the system. As an educated guess I would say only one actually knows how to do it. According to the AG guidelines access to the information can only be done for legitimate law enforcement reasons. All inquiries are logged by the system and its monitored by the state. It would be worth someone’s job to access the information improperly.
And our system could be taken through the car wash.
