In as little detail as possible- there is a video camera with software that scans for license plates and automatically logs them as cars go by. They are largely equivalent to a person standing on a street corner and writing down every license plate seen go by into a log along with time and other basic information. How companies and people use them is largely what differentiates them, despite what marketing may try to tell you is unique from one company to another.
The conversation around them is largely that of data. Let’s take that earlier analogy of standing on a street corner. A simple log with license plates alone may seem unintelligible scribble. However, do this for a few days, and you might notice the same plates coming up at different times. This enables tracking of a car route at least approximately. Not too detailed, but expand the number of corners people begin logging and combine the data. Now you start to piece together exact routes, and even habits the car takes. Combine this data further with any sources of license plate registration, and you can now tie a person or people to a specific car, specific route, and approximate their locations any given day and time.
Now notice, we haven’t even attempted to locate a specific individual, but we now have a network of the vast majority of people in the area, their daily routines and whereabouts, and where they might be any given time of day. Let’s say you did want to locate a specific individual or a specific license plate. You need to only look it up through the data and predict where they will be next given their history. Or, you can even tell one of the people on the corner logging the data to point out the license plate when they see it go by.
This is largely how ALPRs work. They take data on everyone, log it, and make it incredibly easy to search for specific people. If these tools are used by police, they have the ability to find “anyone, anywhere, anytime”. If these tools are used by a private company, they will have the ability to find “anyone, anywhere, anytime”. If these tools are used by any random person, they will have the ability to find “anyone, anywhere, anytime”. The promise of this technology, is to provide the easiest and surest way to find “anyone, anywhere, anytime”, regardless of who or what reason they are searching for.
Why hate it?
-It’s a nuclear approach. Build a database of everyone’s lives and locations then anyone holding access, either for a brief moment or permanently, will hold the power to alter these people’s lives at will. It’s up to whoever has access to the data to determine how they will impact lives. Hackers, other bad actors, corrupt police/politicians, the company who created it, incompetent xyz person with access- all with either a brief moment of full control, will wield that power however they see fit.
-You are helpless to stop its use once its placed. You
consent by existing around it.
Why love it?
It may help police catch people faster.
- It can be used to flag vehicles associated with crimes
- It can be used to help locate any person of interest
- It can be used to help locate anyone, regardless of intention
- It CANNOT prevent crime, it may assist capture before additional crimes by the same individuals.
Want more specific on ALPRS? Check some of these articles out
https://deflock.org/what-is-an-alpr
https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/saver/automatic-license-plate-readers
https://sls.eff.org/technologies/automated-license-plate-readers-alprs