discussion question 4 6

Technological advancement has enhanced the development of appropriate law enforcement systems in the modern society. The use of technology to address policing activities helps in determination of a better society and a governable community. Reduction of crime is a top priority of the law enforcement organizations in the United States and the application of different initiatives to handle the criminal activities in the society have been a normalcy in the US. Nonetheless, technology has aided in the provision of new mechanisms to handle crime and ensure prevalence of peace in the community. However, the identification of the number plates and the exact location of vehicles at times of crime has been a great issue for the US law enforcement agencies. The application of integral measures to curb the use of vehicles that are used in criminal activities has forced law enforcement to come up with beneficial models to handle this issue. The introduction of the Automatic License Plate Recognition system is an efficient technology that seeks to enhance policing in the modern society and help in instituting better schematics in governance of the community such as enhance their enforcement and investigative capabilities, expand their collection of relevant data, and expedite the tedious and time consuming process of manually comparing vehicle license plates with lists of stolen, wanted, and other vehicles of interest.

One major legal issue that could be argued regarding ALPR systems is the infringement of privacy. Most of the general public has a reasonable belief that their license plates should be private. Because ALPR’s collect data from all license plates, even individuals who are not criminals are being tracked. Furthermore, the actual plate number may not be private, but some of the images that the software captures regarding an individual may be. Automatic license plate readers can radically transform the consequences of leaving home to pursue private life and opening up many opportunities for abuse. The tracking of people’s location constitutes a significant invasion of privacy, which can reveal many things about their lives and this collection of data can be shared with virtually anyone.

Another concern would be data security. Sharing such sensitive information across state lines makes it harder to conduct appropriate oversight because the data and privacy laws in one place may differ from another. It also makes that information more susceptible to breaches. If hackers get a hold on what is essentially a geotagged map of your movements, they could sell that stalkers, robbers, or other individuals who wish you harm.

Automated License Plate Readers: State Statutes. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ncsl.org/research/telecommunications-a…

Winston, & Strawn. (2018, June 15). Growing Privacy Regulation of Automatic License Plate Readers – Lexology. Retrieved from https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=4c2…