Police must change licence plate reading system: priv. comm
Posted November 15, 2012 11:19 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A controversial system used by police that automatically scans your licence plate against an RCMP alert list needs to be changed, according to BC’s information and privacy commissioner.
Elizabeth Denham is out with a report after Victoria Police started using the system and people cried foul, worried it would be used as a surveillance tool.
Automated Licence Plate Readers (ALPR) mounted on police cruisers check every nearby vehicle and help catch lawbreakers on the road. While Denham says that’s a good thing, she adds other aspects haven’t been addressed.
“What we are concerned about is that ALPR, the way it’s currently being used, is collecting and retaining information about law-abiding citizens and their whereabouts for no justifiable purpose,” she concludes.
The information ends up with the RCMP as part of a daily scan record, which is supposed to be deleted within 30 minutes. The RCMP administers the ALPR program. Denham says software should be reconfigured to delete it right away.
“Once that licence plate is not of interest to police — it’s not in any database, then the system should immediately and automatically delete that information,” she argues.
“Law enforcement agencies have recently discussed retaining non-hit data… Collecting personal information for traffic enforcement and identifying stolen vehicles does not extend to retaining data on the law-abiding activities of citizens just in case it may be useful in the future,” she adds.
Her recommendation is directed at Victoria Police, but it’s hoped three other municipal forces as well as the RCMP will take note.
We are waiting to hear back from Victoria Police and RCMP Traffic Services.
