Don’t Spy On Me

By now hopefully you’ve heard we’re supporting a bill sponsored by Senator Damon that will ban Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) in our state. When we first started working on the issue, I have to admit I wasn’t that alarmed. Really, how much do I understand about technology like that anyway?

February 3, 2010

By now hopefully you’ve heard we’re supporting a bill
sponsored by Senator Damon that will ban Automatic License Plate Readers
(ALPRs) in our state. When we first started working on the issue, I have to
admit I wasn’t that alarmed. Really, how much do I understand about technology
like that anyway?

As we prepare to testify at the public hearing on the bill
(Friday, 1pm, Transportation Committee at the State House), I have become much
more resolute in my opposition to the technology. And I’m not just determined.
I’m very alarmed.

The reality of the bill hit me when I drove to the South Portland mall last weekend. When I remembered that a cruiser equipped with the camera could be driving
past me in South Portland, I did a quick double take to make sure I had an
updated inspection sticker, my insurance cards and updated registration in the
glove compartment. When I parked my car
in the parking lot, I wondered if a photograph would be taken of my vehicle
parked there.

As I walked around the mall, I got more and more angry that I
was worrying about these things at all. My car is registered. My insurance is
up to date. I have a current inspection sticker. An afternoon of shopping
hardly constitutes illegal activity. Why on earth should I be subjected to such
surveillance while going about my daily life?

I thought of the times I go to Family Planning Association
offices in South Portland,
the various stores I frequent, the synagogue I attend from time to time and was
suddenly furious that anyone would have knowledge of these visits I make. What
need does the South Portland
police department have to monitor my travels?

You might hear South
Portland claim that the sort of things I’m worried
about won’t happen, and this technology will only be used to catch criminals
guilty of really egregious crimes. When
surveillance is used, it is inevitably abused. Take a look at what other police
departments and chiefs have said that currently use the technology:

"It also has a GPS built into it and it will give us a location and a
map of Grand Forks
where that vehicle was last located."
- Lt. Roger Pohlman, Grand Forks,
ND

"Think about how you want to mine your data. There's a lot of potential
for this. For example, if you have
access to all the data, you can map where the plates were seen."
- Sgt. Chris Morgan, Long Beach
CA Police Department

“To search for the man's possible criminal associates, detectives could
easily check the list of license plates on vehicles that passed before and
after the man's vehicle.” - Article on
Officer David McCallister, Arizona

These quotes from law
enforcement say to me that law enforcement using the technology understand its
potential for complete surveillance, that data can be stored and later used to
create a map of my whereabouts, and monitor anyone that may or may not be
traveling with me, or link me to other criminals that I happen to be driving
near.

This flies directly in the face of my right to be left alone
by my government.

If you’re as alarmed as I am, there are a few things you can
do to take action.