THE HUPY/ABRAHAM LEGAL FILES

It’s not surprising to learn that there is yet another program uncovered dealing with government surveillance of individuals participating in legal activities. We’ve known for some time that ALPR (automated license plate readers) have been used by law enforcement agencies to locate criminals or “persons of interest” on the so-called BOLO lists (Be On the Look Out).

 

It’s also widely known that certain agencies have used ALPR devices to identify who was attending certain rallies or political functions. The Department of Justice (DOJ) gathers this information and makes it available to law enforcement agencies across the country.

 

 

As disturbing as that might be, a new scheme was uncovered involving the use of ALPRs at gun shows. This time, it appears the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was leading the charge. Of course, the DEA denies that the plan was implemented, and we should believe them because they’re with the government and they would never do anything unconstitutional.  But why was such a plan even considered, if indeed it wasn’t implemented?  Why use ALPR devices to capture license plate numbers of anyone attending a gun show? And why is the DEA involved instead of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF), which would make more sense?

 

Capturing license plate numbers seems relatively harmless, except that databases are being filled with the plate numbers of law-abiding citizens without any explanation about what happens to this stored data?  

 

Current ALPR technology is able to capture and store up to 10 photos per vehicle from static cameras poised on poles or other stationary objects. No need to chase the cars around; let the cars pass by the cameras. Besides the front and rear license plate, the cameras also store photos of the front and rear of the vehicle as well as photos of up to four occupants in the vehicle. Even more concerning is the facial recognition technology that can identify the occupants of the vehicle.

 

 

Despite denials from the DEA about utilizing photo recognition, the American Civil Liberties Union submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to learn more about the surveillance program.  The DEA suggested that photos of the occupants of a vehicle were incidental, but according to the ACLU, “…occupant photos are not an occasional, accidental by-product of the technology, but one that is intentionally being cultivated…”

 

The ACLU went on to say, “Tracking movement and saving individuals’ photos is particularly worrisome if the DEA is targeting First Amendment-protected activity. As we stated in our blog post  on the DEA’s plans to monitor gun shows, an automatic license plate reader cannot distinguish between people transporting illegal guns and those transporting legal guns, or no guns at all; it only documents the presence of any car driving to the event. A photo of a car’s occupants, however, documents much more — and intensifies our concerns about the targeted use of this technology. We don’t want to see someone’s photo entered into a facial recognition database simply because a person’s presence at a gun show (or any other gathering) is considered suspicion of illegal activity.”  Is this an attempt at creating some sort of defacto gun registration?

 

 

 

It’s no secret that the current administration does not like guns, gun shows, or gun sales, and wants strict registration laws put into effect. Although the government claims that gun shows are a haven for illegal gun sales, by its own accounting, only .7% of criminals used a gun bought at a show for criminal purposes.

 

Currently, there are supposedly 94 ALPR devices in the network owned by the DEA or other federal or local law enforcement agencies. The states utilizing these devices include California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, Florida and New Jersey. 

 

 

This reporter also knows for a fact that the Milwaukee Police Department also uses ALPR, but according to a department memo, the use is restricted to specially trained officers with strict guidelines in place. Milwaukee uses the devices in conjunction with the BOLO list. Instead of chasing suspects around town, the ALPR cameras capture hundreds of vehicle plates, and if a vehicle is on the BOLO list, an alert goes out. Then, police have a defined geographical location to search for the vehicle as opposed to driving all over town looking for wanted vehicles or suspects.

 

The question remains, what happens to all that captured data of innocent people being stored on the databases, and what is it used for? The DEA has yet to release any policies that govern the use of license plate readers, or the database storing the locations of Americans engaged in legal activities.  It is unclear if any court or process oversees or approves the use of this intelligence, or if other government agencies have access to the photographs.

 

This all highlights the need for more light to be shed on this program and others like it.  ALPR devices must not be used to spy on people going about their daily lives — whether it is peacefully assembling for lawful purposes, or driving on the nation’s highways. There should be strong regulations put in place and greater transparency. Without it, there is an increased threat of more government abuse involving Fourth Amendment rights.

 

For more information on the use of ALPR at gun shows, visit here

 

—Tony “Pan” Sanfelipo is the senior accident investigator at Hupy and Abraham, S.C.