In 2023, Isoke R. was driving in Detroit with her 2-year-old son in the back seat.
The woman was pulled over by police, her car was impounded, and she and her son were put in the back of a police cruiser.
You see, police believed that her vehicle was connected to a drive-by shooting, and they kept her car for over three weeks.
A witness to the shooting gave police a description of the vehicle involved in the shooting, but not a license plate number.
So, the police worked backwards.
They used license plate readers to sort through the plates that passed the camera at the time of the shooting.
One of the license plates belonged to a Dodge Charger, which matched the description of the shooter’s car.
The camera that caught the charger was two miles from the shooting, and only a few blocks from Isoke’s house.
That’s when police showed up at Isoke’s house, questioned her about the shooting, and impounded her car.
For the next three weeks, she had to borrow a friend’s car so she could get to her job at a local car assembly plant.
After she was cleared of any wrongdoing, she sued the Detroit Police Department.
Isoke’s story is obviously an example of Big Brother surveillance and how it can go wrong.
The scary thing is that license plate reader cameras are all over the country.
Police claim the cameras are an important crime-fighting tool.
They photograph and store pictures of every car that passes by.
But there is no question that these cameras can do more than read license plates.
Bumper stickers:
The reality is that license plate readers capture a lot more than just license plates.
For instance, police can search a license plate reader database for words like “Trump.”
They would see photos of bumper stickers and the license plate next to it.
Or the camera could capture a bumper sticker that might tell someone where your child attends school.
While people use bumper stickers to make jokes, promote politics, and many other reasons, that same bumper sticker could lead to being targeted.
Private Investigators:
In most states, private investigators have to be licensed by the state to conduct business.
And while they don’t have the same latitude as cops, license plate databases can be accessed by private investigators.
Meaning, if you are going through a divorce, a bad business partnership breakup, or if someone’s trying to dig up dirt on you…
There is a good chance an investigator has looked up your license plate to see where you have been.
So, if you are concerned someone is watching your movements it’s a good idea to consider other methods of travel or use a vehicle that can’t be traced to you.
Insurance:
Some license plate recognition companies are developing software to do “vehicle fingerprinting.”
This will allow the cameras to determine the car’s make, model, and year.
But it could also detect if there is damage to the vehicle.
And the concern is that insurance companies can access the same database as law enforcement.
So, insurance companies can use these systems to argue about where or how damage occurred to get out of paying a claim.
The fact is, license plate reader cameras do a lot more than help police track down bad guys.
