RALEIGH, N.C. — Law-enforcement agencies across North Carolina can now install automatic license-plate readers along state-maintained roads under a provision included in the state’s new budget.
The change makes a previous pilot program permanent and opens participation to law-enforcement agencies statewide. Supporters say North Carolina license plate readers provide authorities with another tool for locating criminal suspects, stolen vehicles and missing people.
Privacy advocates, however, are raising concerns about the number of drivers being recorded, how the information is stored and whether adequate protections exist to prevent improper surveillance.
How Automatic License-Plate Readers Work
Automatic license-plate readers, commonly called ALPRs, photograph vehicles as they pass a camera. The systems record license-plate numbers and can also identify characteristics such as a vehicle’s make, model and color.
The information can then be compared with law-enforcement databases. A match may alert officers to a stolen vehicle, a person wanted in connection with a crime, a missing person or another active investigation.
Before the budget change, some cities and counties used the cameras along locally maintained roads. Their use on major highways and other state-maintained roads was more limited. The expanded North Carolina license plate readers program now allows broader coverage across the state.
Law Enforcement Points to Successful Searches
Public-safety officials say the technology has helped officers find abducted children, elderly drivers with dementia, criminal suspects and vehicles connected to drug investigations. The cameras have also been used to verify information and clear at least one person who had been investigated for a serious crime.
Supporters argue that motorists traveling on public roads can already be seen or photographed. They believe using technology to analyze that information provides benefits that outweigh privacy concerns, especially during emergencies when investigators need to find a vehicle quickly.
Privacy Advocates Seek Stronger Safeguards
Opponents say the scale of the surveillance is different from an officer or witness simply seeing a vehicle. A network of North Carolina license plate readers could create a searchable record showing where millions of vehicles have traveled.
Critics are particularly concerned that officers could use the system for personal reasons or monitor people attending political demonstrations, religious gatherings or other protected activities.
North Carolina law makes misuse of license-plate-reader information a Class 1 misdemeanor. Agencies using the technology are also required to adopt a policy governing its use. However, the details of those policies are left largely to the individual agencies, creating concerns about inconsistent rules and oversight.
A previous pilot program demonstrated how quickly the cameras can collect information. Three cameras positioned along state roads in Raleigh recorded more than 14 million vehicle observations and produced hundreds of alerts from law-enforcement databases.
The expansion of North Carolina license plate readers creates a statewide debate that is likely to continue: how to use emerging technology to improve public safety without creating unnecessary or unchecked surveillance of people who are not suspected of a crime.
Star 102.5 will continue following developments involving the program and any new privacy safeguards considered by state leaders.
