If you haven’t done anything wrong you have nothing to worry about
by digby
The 4th Amendment is obsolete:
A camera mounted to a lamppost on the Sea Isle Boulevard Bridge has taken a picture of every license plate leaving the island for the past two years.
The information is transmitted to a computer at the nearby Police Department, where officers use it to monitor for stolen vehicles and suspected criminals, or keep it to be used in a potential future case.
The automated license plate reader, or ALPR, is a technology that is growing in use locally and throughout the world as a way to dramatically expand the reach of police investigations. Cameras essentially take photographs of passing vehicles and use software to extract the license plate numbers — data that can then be used to automatically search police databases for any issues with that vehicle or its registered owner.
“It’s a very, very good tool when you deploy it right,” said Sea Isle City police Lt. Kirk Rohrer, who has used the system for several successful investigations.
Using the technology correctly has been a concern among privacy advocates, though, who worry what would happen if the immense amount of data being collected is misused.
Indeed. But again, if you do what you’re told and don’t ever make a mistake or break a rule — and have complete trust in the integrity and competence of the authorities — then this shouldn’t be a problem for you. If every human being is perfect at all times, we don’t need to worry our pretty little heads about any of this.
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