Homeland Security is seeking a national license plate tracking system

[alp227]

Last edited Wed Feb 19, 2014, 08:57 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Washington Post

The Department of Homeland Security wants a private company to provide a national license-plate tracking system that would give the agency access to vast amounts of information from commercial and law enforcement tag readers, according to a government proposal that does not specify what privacy safeguards would be put in place.

The national license-plate recognition database, which would draw data from readers that scan the tags of every vehicle crossing their paths, would help catch fugitive illegal immigrants, according to a DHS solicitation. But the database could easily contain more than 1 billion records and could be shared with other law enforcement agencies, raising concerns that the movements of ordinary citizens who are under no criminal suspicion could be scrutinized.

A spokeswoman for DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) stressed that the database “could only be accessed in conjunction with ongoing criminal investigations or to locate wanted individuals.”

The database would enhance agents’ and officers’ ability to locate suspects who could pose a threat to public safety and would reduce the time required to conduct surveillance, ICE spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/homeland-security-is-seeking-a-national-license-plate-tracking-system/2014/02/18/56474ae8-9816-11e3-9616-d367fa6ea99b_story.html

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AP update at 7 p.m. ET: Gov't cancels plan to collect license plate data

Gizmodo: Homeland Security Wants To Build a System To Track Every License Plate

[MADem]

1. They've been talking about RFID inspection stickers here in MA for years...

A way of implementing a "road tax," if you will.

Of course, it's unfair, because people who don't live in MA won't get charged. Also, it's too easy to disable those chips (careful whack with a hammer).

In any event, it's been under discussion in assorted ways at state levels (some, anyway) for a long time.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

2. Good.

This will help protect me from the brown terrorist boogeymen.


If you disagree or think this is a bad idea you're probably just a Ron Paul supporting racist libertarian.

[2naSalit]

3. Nope, Nope, NOPE

GONG!!!!

They need to get their heads out of their snoopy asses.

[silvershadow]

4. Looks like the NSA is a one-stop shop for constitutional violations.

Granted, I want to be protected from terrorists. I would suggest we quit making terrorists as a start. If we don't make them, they won't be after us. Secondly, if they are within our borders I would suggest apprehending them. As memory serves, to date we have apprehended zero since 9/11 (correct me if I'm wrong), so there probably either aren't any here, or several agencies have failed their duty. Point is, for what purpose are they doing all of this?

[ForgoTheConsequence]

5. Why do you hate Obama?

Do you not trust him to protect your constitutional freedoms?

[silvershadow]

8. Well, I don't hate Obama. But I would prefer someone who leans left. ;) nt

[Thinkingabout]

6. I realize this may be more intense than what we have used to in the past but license

Plate information is available and quickly obtained by law enforcement. Does it scare me for agencies
to have this information easily accessible, no, not at all.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

7. It's not about knowing the info.

It's about tracking your movement. You're ok with private contractors holding and gathering this information?

[Thinkingabout]

9. As I have said, it doesn't concern me. In fact good could come from the information.

If a vehicle was car jacked then it could be found and where it has been. On most of the smart devices there is already a trail of information tracked. On many vehicles with GPS the information is tracked. DNA has removed suspension at a crime scene and has made determination of parental identity. If I happen to be a victim of crime I would like to know the guilty parties are found. Don't look at these advances as negative.

[eggplant]

11. that is a pretty poor argument.

the information *already* exists. if you want to find a single car and you know where it was jacked, ask the state for its data. it is the centralization of the data which allows reverse mining -- not "where was/is this car", but rather "which cars tend to be seen near some arbitrary car". you're telling me that it is useful to know that I happen to live, shop, and bank near some suspect?

why not just fingerprint everyone, then crime scenes would be so much easier to deal with?

once you aggregate the data, you can glean MUCH MUCH more that what the law legitimately allows. and there is no way to stop it from happening. do you trust the keepers of this data to only use it lawfully?

[Thinkingabout]

14. Now you are putting up a silly argument. How would the state license have information

Of where a hijacked vehicle be located?

[eggplant]

18. where do you think the information they are talking about comes from?

state and municipal plate scanners.

or did you think the feds were going to deploy their own scanners?

[Thinkingabout]

22. You may have jumped ahead of yourself, state DMV's has registeration information,

Law enforcement has databases with information. If there is going to be increased information such as GPS information I really do know which agency will maintain that information. There are GPS capabilities on smart phones and in many vehicles. Many companies install GPS devices on their company vehicles. Lojack companies has a database. We live our devices and some people curse the devices, either you are in or you stay out, for the most part it is your choice.

[eggplant]

25. Except this eliminates "choice".

Just because you don't have a problem with being tracked, the rest of us should quietly capitulate to unconstitutional overreach?

[Thinkingabout]

27. Get rid of your devices, live as a hermit, unless you bother others then you may

Not be tracked. Keep your devices and probably somewhere you agreed to the policies of those devices, it is your choice.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

12. Good could come from micro-chipping everyone.

It would probably reduce crime.



You trust corporations a lot more than I do.

[Thinkingabout]

15. It would be a good thing to microchip repeat offenders, we microchip our animals in hopes of them

Being returned if lost. Many companies have GPS devices on their employees company vehicles in order to keep their employees where they are supposed to be.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

16. Companies aren't the government.

You agree to certain things when you gain employment. As citizens we're protected by the fourth amendment.

[Thinkingabout]

19. Yes we have Fourth amendment rights but we all should be afforded protection to live

Safely and secure for without remaining alive there are not any rights.

[eggplant]

21. how are "we" protected in any way by this?

and who gets to define "we"? certainly not you or me.

[Thinkingabout]

23. I live in America, I may not agree with everything but I would much rather be in America

Than any other place, my motto is love it or leave it.

[eggplant]

24. wow.

and yet, you still haven't bothered to answer any of the questions posed to you. Enjoy your comfort that the powers that be would never choose to overreach and act against our constitutional rights. Because that's certainly never happened before.

[Thinkingabout]

30. I am exercising my freedom, freedom not to have to answer all of your questions just as

You exercised your freedom to ask.

[eggplant]

39. Watch! Now I'm exercising my freedom to put you on ignore.

Have a nice profitable life devoid of friends.

[frylock]

31. it seems you love a democracy modeled closer to north korea than america..

so, getting back to your sentiment about loving it or leaving it.....

[Thinkingabout]

33. I love this country, USA, BTW WTH, what are you talking about, you would rather be in

North Korea then seek to go there.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

34. This post makes zero sense.

There is no way that you aren't trolling.

[Thinkingabout]

38. It makes as much sense as telling me about North Korea, and no I am not the one trolling, you need

To accuse others.

[eggplant]

20. that's because the company owns the cars.

they don't get to track their employees cars.

and the idea of "chipping" humans is so over-the-top fascist that I can't believe anyone would seriously suggest it.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

35. Yeah that post was creepy.

So creepy that I refuse to believe it was sincere.

[eggplant]

10. it's the data mining abilities that is the problem.

aggregating all of this data means that anyone's (ok, any vehicle's) movements will be known forever. Think of it as "papers, please", except the checkpoints are automatic and everywhere, and you can never erase the record.

all in the name of tracking vehicles nationally. of course, if you know where the vehicle is, you could just ask that state for the information, and when they cross to another state you rinse and repeat. and if you don't know where the vehicle is, then you ask *every* state if they know, and then you are off to the races.

there is no upside to a centralized national repository for this data. none.

[Historic NY]

13. Somehow I think states DMV will have something to say about that....

besides a system already exists and is available to L.E. to check plates via a state compact and a nationwide telecommunications system. NLETS.

[Historic NY]

29. ****Canceled by the adult in charge...

“The solicitation, which was posted without the awareness of ICE leadership, has been cancelled,” ICE spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said in a statement. “While we continue to support a range of technologies to help meet our law enforcement mission, this solicitation will be reviewed to ensure the path forward appropriately meets our operational needs.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014732685

[OnyxCollie]

17. This wouldn't happen under a Democratic administration.

[DonViejo]

26. It didn't...

Department of Homeland Security cancels national license-plate tracking plan

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014732685

[freshwest]

28. I thought this had been going on for at least a decade.

From 2008:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/04/08/big-brother-better-police-work-new-technology-automatically-runs-license-plates-everyone/1qoAoFfgp31UnXZT2CsFSK/story.html

Actually, the technology is older than 2008. Try 1976:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_number_plate_recognition#Development_history

I read about the American version of ANPR in 2004:

City Cops' Plate Scanner is a License to Snoop

https://www.schneier.com/essay-057.html

And police cars have carried computers that they can access the information data from license plate computers for many years. Before that, they simply called into their dispatch to have them look it up years ago. Back into the 1970s and earlier.

Putting DHS in a story to make it more menacing doesn't change the fact that this capability has almost always been there. There are several reasons data is kept, and why the law requires license plates to be visible.

The people that have objected most to this are the sovereign citizens groups who don't believe they should have to pay taxes, have any records on them kept, and feel oppressed by regulation of any time. As long as one is participating in society and not going John Connor or even John Galt, this is one of the trade offs of being in a society of millions. We are living in a social construct.

How I wish things were as simple as they seemed as a child, but alas, I'm not a kid.

[doc03]

32. Why not just embed a microchip in all of us and a bar code on our forehead n/t

[truthisfreedom]

36. Bicycle.

[Fumesucker]

37. There are some DUers who want bicycles licenced, tagged and insured

It's come up before on bicycle oriented threads in GD.