Miami to use license plate scanners Memorial Day weekend

[DaveTN]

It’s just a tool to take criminals off the street. They are catching criminals that have warrants. But instead of an Officer checking individual plates he is using a computer that can do it much quicker. They are checking data that they already have access to.

Catching people with traffic warrants might not be too glamorous, but catching a dangerous felon before he hurts one of your family members might be.

Dangerous elusive people are taken down on traffic stops. If they have the technology to check a thousand cars as they drive by and pick out the ones with wants and warrants; more power to them.

I would say though, that I would think it would keep the Officers pretty busy hauling people off to jail. I doubt it would take very long to get a hit.

[CQB Elite]

I've worked some cases on South Beach and I can say without a doubt that its the last place on Earth that I'd want to have to arrest anyone.

When we arrested "females" on So Beach the first question we asked the arrestee is, "Are you now or have you ever been a male"....

[Mike.357]

There is some quote about giving up freedom for safety and ending up with neither.

Applicable here.

[Garufa]

There is some quote about giving up freedom for safety and ending up with neither.

Applicable here.

“Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.â€

― Thomas Jefferson

[Guest bkelm18]

“Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.â€

― Thomas Jefferson

If I'm not mistaken, isn't that quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin?

[Guest mcgyver210]

It’s just a tool to take criminals off the street. They are catching criminals that have warrants. But instead of an Officer checking individual plates he is using a computer that can do it much quicker. They are checking data that they already have access to.

Catching people with traffic warrants might not be too glamorous, but catching a dangerous felon before he hurts one of your family members might be.

Dangerous elusive people are taken down on traffic stops. If they have the technology to check a thousand cars as they drive by and pick out the ones with wants and warrants; more power to them.

I would say though, that I would think it would keep the Officers pretty busy hauling people off to jail. I doubt it would take very long to get a hit.

Government does nothing without abusing it so expect abuse of this technology.

Dave your analogy that the Government is just trying to make us safe by invading every aspect of our lives sounds like the same one Government has been using for years when they want a property tax increase which is it is for the schools & the children.

I am sick of giving up more in the name of safety & would rather take my chances with more freedom from government intrusion as I have done my entire life. There is a growing mistrust of any Government agent that isn't going away..

[Garufa]

If I'm not mistaken, isn't that quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin?

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

- Benjamin Franklin

[hornett22]

They arent getting anyone "off the street".

They are getting them in temporary custody to get them regestered in the money racket run by the court system.

These folks will be "back on the street" in the blink of an eye.

[diablo982]

What government agent is going to be interested in tracking my travels, cell phone calls, computer usage, etc? There is NOTHING to see with me, move along folks! Also, where is the manpower going to come from to conduct surveillance on every US citizen? Will there be one government agent for every three citizens, five citizens? We would need to create a new government agency (bureau of snooping affairs?) just to watch everyone and staff it with 60,000,000 employees. I think some people need to loosen the tin foil hats.

[NRA]

What government agent is going to be interested in tracking my travels, cell phone calls, computer usage, etc? There is NOTHING to see with me, move along folks! Also, where is the manpower going to come from to conduct surveillance on every US citizen? Will there be one government agent for every three citizens, five citizens? We would need to create a new government agency (bureau of snooping affairs?) just to watch everyone and staff it with 60,000,000 employees. I think some people need to loosen the tin foil hats.

very well said thank you ........so just relaxe people and take a deep breath

Edited May 5, 2012 by NRA

[hornett22]

What government agent is going to be interested in tracking my travels, cell phone calls, computer usage, etc? There is NOTHING to see with me, move along folks! Also, where is the manpower going to come from to conduct surveillance on every US citizen? Will there be one government agent for every three citizens, five citizens? We would need to create a new government agency (bureau of snooping affairs?) just to watch everyone and staff it with 60,000,000 employees. I think some people need to loosen the tin foil hats.

Been hearing this line for years and for years the stuff the so called "Tin foil hat " crowd has been warning us about has been coming true.

[diablo982]

Been hearing this line for years and for years the stuff the so called "Tin foil hat " crowd has been warning us about has been coming true.

Maybe my use of "tin foil" was a bit harsh; I actually feel sad for the "govt is watching me" or "the world will end on 12/12/12" groups. That's just one more stress to deal with in their lives that I don't. I have enough problems worrying if the plumber is going to overcharge me or will gas prices go up before I take my summer vacation, etc. No need to add further stressors in my life for things i consider far-fetched.

[hornett22]

I don't believe the wold is going to end this December but I do believe our government has been out of control for some time now. If the DHS and Fast And Furious aren't proof of that then I really don't know what else to tell you.

[Guest bkelm18]

Guess we need to vote for Ron Paul so when he wins the November election he can make all the bad stuff go away with the wave of his magic wand.

Edited May 6, 2012 by bkelm18

[hornett22]

Or we could just make jokes and let the country continue its downward spiral..........

[Fourtyfive]

I saw on the news today or yesterday that Sumner county PD cars have this now , they scan from all 4 sides of the car constantly.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120506/NEWS01/305060090/License-plate-readers-aid-police-raise-ethical-issues?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs

Edited May 7, 2012 by Threeeighty

[Guest mcgyver210]

I saw on the news today or yesterday that Sumner county PD cars have this now , they scan from all 4 sides of the car constantly.

http://www.tennessea...7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs

Mark my words it isn't if they will abuse this data, it is when they will abuse this data. Look at how badly they have abused forfeitures which was also recently in the news. We don't even hear about most of their abuses most likely.

Next they will be saying your car was seen on the highway at mile marker 1 at 12:00pm & again at mile marker 15 at a time that means you was speeding so they issue a ticket for speeding with no real witness since your speed wasn't calculated.at any specific point.

Just an example but really not so far fetched if anyone with a brain just thinks about past abuses..

[Karnage]

All of the traffic cameras (red light and speed) have the capability to scan every license plate that passes by and check them through an NCIC wanted file. Local governments can also have them scan for locally wanted persons, unpaid tickets, etc. They can also store that information indefinitely. If you travel through the same section of roadway everyday they can enter your tag number and it will show the times that your tag has been scanned. Most places don't use them this way but the capability is there.

[mcurrier]

They can also store that information indefinitely.

Therein lies the problem.

[Guest mcgyver210]

All of the traffic cameras (red light and speed) have the capability to scan every license plate that passes by and check them through an NCIC wanted file. Local governments can also have them scan for locally wanted persons, unpaid tickets, etc. They can also store that information indefinitely. If you travel through the same section of roadway everyday they can enter your tag number and it will show the times that your tag has been scanned. Most places don't use them this way but the capability is there.

Yes that was one of the first steps they used in the name of safety that actually has become more about $$$$s mostly for a private corp but also for the government.

No matter how you dress it up Government is out of control, mad with power & IMO most of what they do now days is about $$$$s & control but not about safety.

How about all money & property seized from these so called intrusions for our safety going towards the schools? This is an acceptable solution anytime they want more taxes from us in what ever way they see fit. It is a conflict of interest the way it is done now that even has a name "Policing for Profit"

Edited May 7, 2012 by mcgyver210

[DaveTN]

I’m really not against the cameras. City’s need money to operate and they are going to get it one way or another. I’m a property owner and I would be fine with them getting it from people that can’t drive and people that don’t pay their fines instead of getting it from raising my property taxes. The more jobs and businesses we lose, the more money they are going to want form me.

Red light cameras and unmanned radar cameras aren’t about policing, safety, or traffic enforcement; they are simply about revenue generation.

Scanning plates to check warrants is just a tool for Policing. A high speed, low drag tool.

Anything can be abused. You deal with it when it happens.

My vehicle will call for help if I’m in an accident….. I love technology.

And by the way….. Have those cameras take pictures of people driving and talking on cell phones and mail them a ticket also.

[Sternen]

If anyone thinks they won't use a database to store data, you are kidding yourself. Memphis City Councilman Edmond Ford, Jr. made a proposal to use the scanners so that they could charge Non-Memphis residents who come into the city several times a week. Can't keep track of that without a database of some sort.

http://www.wmctv.com...rive-in-memphis

1984 is 30 years late, but it is here.

Edited May 16, 2012 by Sternen

[tnhawk]

If anyone thinks they won't use a database to store data, you are kidding yourself. Memphis City Councilman Edmond Ford, Jr. made a proposal to use the scanners so that they could charge Non-Memphis residents who come into the city several times a week. Can't keep track of that without a database of some sort.

http://www.wmctv.com...rive-in-memphis

1984 is 30 years late, but it is here.

Another good reason for me to shop and generate tax revenue in north MS rather than Memphis.

[SithL0rd]

There is also this.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/ff_nsadatacenter/all/1

Given the facility’s scale and the fact that a terabyte of data can now be stored on a flash drive the size of a man’s pinky, the potential amount of information that could be housed in Bluffdale is truly staggering. But so is the exponential growth in the amount of intelligence data being produced every day by the eavesdropping sensors of the NSA and other intelligence agencies. As a result of this “expanding array of theater airborne and other sensor networks,†as a 2007 Department of Defense report puts it, the Pentagon is attempting to expand its worldwide communications network, known as the Global Information Grid, to handle yottabytes (10²⁴ bytes) of data. (A yottabyte is a septillion bytes—so large that no one has yet coined a term for the next higher magnitude.)

It needs that capacity because, according to a recent report by Cisco, global Internet traffic will quadruple from 2010 to 2015, reaching 966 exabytes per year. (A million exabytes equal a yottabyte.) In terms of scale, Eric Schmidt, Google’s former CEO, once estimated that the total of all human knowledge created from the dawn of man to 2003 totaled 5 exabytes. And the data flow shows no sign of slowing. In 2011 more than 2 billion of the world’s 6.9 billion people were connected to the Internet. By 2015, market research firm IDC estimates, there will be 2.7 billion users. Thus, the NSA’s need for a 1-million-square-foot data storehouse. Should the agency ever fill the Utah center with a yottabyte of information, it would be equal to about 500 quintillion (500,000,000,000,000,000,000) pages of text.

Sadly I think we are already past the point of no return.