The use of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) is growing across the country, including in the Quad Cities. The Iowa and Illinois House assemblies are considering implementing regulations on APLR use.
Iowa American Civil Liberties Union Communications Director Veronica Fowler says her organization is lobbying for the passage of such legislation, claiming it's not like red-light or speed cameras.
“They're cameras that are used on Iowa roads and streets, and they take thousands and thousands of photos every day, from license plates of every car that drives by.” Fowler said in an interview with WVIK. “And then the data is fed into this enormous national surveillance network that really, unfortunately, right now has very little oversight and there's very little transparency.”
Fowler said the organization partnered with the University of Iowa Technology Law Center a few months ago to survey 48 law enforcement agencies throughout Iowa on their policies and use of ALPRs.
“[I]n the study finding that sometimes law enforcement does not understand what they have on their hands and has not been diligent about protecting the very citizenry they are supposed to be protecting and serving,” Fowler said. “And a case in point is in a couple [of] cases, the researchers reached out to the law enforcement agencies and said, ‘Hey, can you tell us where your ALPRs are and some other basic data?’ And the law enforcement agency said, ‘No, that's absolutely not open record.’ And then the researchers took the next step and went online and found out. They went into the system of the vendor and found out that [it's] online very clearly, all that information is online, and the law enforcement agencies didn't even realize it. So that's part of the concern, too, is that even if law enforcement has good intentions, these tools are not being used properly and with the proper precautions.”
One of the vendors Fowler brought up is Flock Safety, which she says is not prioritizing privacy and instead shares data with various third parties.
“For example, Flock has told communities that they would not give this information to ICE [Immigrations and Customs Enforcement]. And then they were found to be giving the information to ICE,” Fowler said. “And supposedly, there are guardrails built into the system to prevent abuse. But it seems like every single month, there's another news report of a really terrible situation. Frequently, it is used by people who are authorized to use the system, and they can put in any reason they want [for] why they are trying to track a license plate. But we find that they put in drugs and then try to track their ex-girlfriend or their ex-wife or the ex-wife's boyfriend and track them and see those kinds of things. There was a terrible situation in Texas where a woman went out of state for an abortion, and [an] ALPR network was used to track her down. And that I don't think is something that a lot of people would condone. We certainly don't.”
Fowler says the value for Flock Safety and other vendors like Motorola Solutions is in networking with other municipalities and states to share data. She claims that, without regulations, the use of ALPRs is akin to the days of the Wild West. Municipalities like Coralville ended their contracts with Flock Safety, citing concerns that the vendor was not upfront with the council about its data storage practices.
Fowler also claims the cameras are expensive, citing, for example, the city of Cedar Rapids paying $20,000 a month for ALPRs. She says the ACLU questions its validity, citing a California study that showed an error rate of 1 in 10.
“And this has resulted in some cases where an innocent family is driving down the street, and all of a sudden, they are surrounded by law enforcement with guns,” Fowler said. “Their children have even been removed from the vehicle and ordered to lie. I mean, we're talking about small children lying face down on the pavement with guns pointed at them because they were off by a number on the license plate. We need to have better safeguards so that doesn't happen.”
The Iowa Transportation Committee and the Judiciary Committee passed different bills regarding the regulation of ALPRs. The ACLU supported both bills according to lobbying declarations; this was before an amendment was added to one of the bills. In further inquiry, Fowler said the organization will not comment on any specific legislation.
The Transportation Committee’s version, HF2161, originally required a warrant or a county attorney subpoena, but that was removed in an amendment passed in February. Instead, the bill requires law enforcement agencies to maintain records of those who access the data. It also allows insurance carriers to access the data for fraud investigations, claim adjudication, and vehicle recovery. The amendment also included a provision prohibiting cameras from being placed near places of worship without their consent. Municipalities must audit the system every three months. Anyone who violates the law will be charged with a simple misdemeanor.
That bill passed out of committee by a vote of 20-0 on Feb. 17th.
Transportation Committee Chairwoman Megan Jones (R-6) in an email statement to WVIK News said: “ There was also a bill passed out of Judiciary. We’re trying to link the two. The House will have to consider this bill quickly if it is going to survive funnel deadlines because it does not appear the Senate took much of an interest in the issue. That said, I think we are getting the bill into a tolerable condition for law enforcement and those concerned about excess government surveillance.”
The bills need to pass before the state legislature’s second funnel deadline on March 20th. Bills need to pass the chamber as well as pass the opposite chamber’s respective committee to receive consideration for the remainder of the legislative session. The first funnel deadline was February 20th.
The Judiciary Committee’s version, HF2555, then renumbered HF2701, does require a warrant to access data after 24 hours, unless the plate number owner voluntarily consents to sharing data or the plate is tied to a missing or endangered person or to those with connections to human trafficking. It also includes a carve-out for exigent circumstances in which obtaining a warrant is impractical.
The bill also requires data to be deleted after 21 days unless tied to an active investigation, and that a data log be maintained with that data and deleted two years after the capture date. The bill requires municipalities and law enforcement agencies to obtain approval for use from the state’s procurement team, which includes the Department of Administrative Services or the department of management staff responsible for, among other things, overseeing and helping state employees and agencies work with vendors to buy goods and services.
That bill passed out of committee by a vote of 20-0 with one excused Rep. Rick Olson [D-39].
Illinois House Representative Jaime M. Andrade, Jr. [D-40th] introduced similar legislation, HB5231, in February, and that is now awaiting consideration in the House Rules Committee.
The Iowa and Illinois ACLU held an informational meeting on ALPRs in February.
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