The ACLU launched a nationwide effort today to find out more about automatic license plate readers (ALPRs). This relatively new technology allows for photographs to be taken of every license plate that passes by – up to three thousand per minute – with all of that information stored in a massive database. Police departments nationwide are using ALPRs to quietly accumulate millions of plate records, storing them in backend databases that catalog exactly who was where at what time.
The ACLU filed requests in 38 different states today, but Maine was not one of them. That’s because we are one of just two states in the country that already have statutes on the books to regulate the use of ALPRs. If you recall back to 2010, the Maine Legislature passed an important bill that placed significant safeguards on the deployment of ALPRs, including strict limits on the development of police databases for tracking people’s movements. The legislation also provided for purging of data pertaining to law-abiding citizens every 21 days and ensures that the databases are confidential.
The ACLU of Maine had originally sought a total ban on ALPRs, but we were still very pleased to see the final legislation include such important protections against government abuse of power and threats to the right to privacy. Given that 48 states don’t have any statute at all, we are sitting in pretty good shape on this one! Still, this technology is too dangerous for us to forget about it. We will be paying close attention as other ACLU affiliates investigate how ALPRs are being used in their states, and we hope the outcome is a positive one.
