License Plate Reader issue heats up

License Plate Readers Held Up In Committee Over Privacy Concerns

Submitted by the office of Senator Torrey Westrom - Elbow Lake

St. Paul – A new technology to identify stolen cars is producing major controversy at the Minnesota State Capitol. On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Transportation and Public Safety heard Senate File 86, also known as the “Automatic License Plate Reader” bill, which authorizes law enforcement to retain drivers’ information for a period of 90 days.

The retention period is the source of the controversy, with legislators and data privacy advocates raising concerns over the infringement on the privacy of average, law-abiding citizens. Automatic license plate reader technology not only collects license plates; it also tracks time, date, and location of the license plate at the time of collection.

“Whether or not you have done anything wrong, you are under surveillance,” said Sen. Torrey Westrom (R-Elbow Lake). “Your personal information is available to law enforcement for 90 days (and sometimes longer), even if you have not committed any crime, and it may be used in criminal investigations.”

Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance (GOCRA) is one of the groups concerned with the retention provision. They have said there is nothing stopping law enforcement from collecting data on hundreds or even thousands of cars outside political rallies, churches, mosques, or gun shows. Law Enforcement officers are free to share personal information of Minnesotans with federal agencies – agencies that have no legal obligation under Minnesota law to protect the data.

To address these data privacy concerns, Senate Republicans introduced a “Zero Day Retention” bill that would eliminate the retention period. Senate File 31, authored by Sen. Branden Petersen (R-Ham Lake), allows for automatic license plate readers to be used by law enforcement, but restricts the data from being stored for any length of time.

“License plate readers are not inherently destructive, but the data collected needs to be more heavily regulated,” continued Sen. Westrom. “Sen. Petersen’s bill strikes a balance between the privacy rights of individuals and law enforcement’s ability to utilize this technology to apprehend criminals.”

Automatic license plate reader technology allows law enforcement to preprogram license plates of stolen cars into their system. The reader then collects plate numbers and automatically runs the numbers against the list of stolen cars. When there is a match, law enforcement is notified in real time. This has proven very effective at recovering and restoring stolen vehicles.

Automatic license plate readers streamline and automate what law enforcement officers have done for decades. This technology also has the capability of scanning for missing persons, warrants, and terrorists. It can more accurately identify possible suspects, rule out innocent people, and expands investigative capabilities of agencies.