Americans would never allow this... You think the cops have too much power here? HAH!

From: http://www.staffordshire.police.uk/news056.htm

"As part of an on-going operation to reduce thefts of and from vehicles, Automatic Number (licence) Plate Recognition equipment is to be deployed at sites across the Local Policing Unit.

"The hi-tech ANPR kit scans the registration (licence) plates of passing vehicles, checks them against databases, and instantly alerts officers to vehicles which have been stolen or used in crime."

 

What's wrong with this idea? Cops can do this anytime here, now its just automated for them.

If this helps recovere stolen cars, or gets people without licences and/or insurance off the road, I think its a great idea.

 

You are obviously a republican!

Some people complain for being charged with carrying drugs or dui because the cop had no reason to pull them over, and many escape conviction. Fighting Unreasonable search & siezure is a big thing the US. Don't you think that scanning you licence number and checking inspection records, insurance, registration, theft etc is scary?

What about a list of licence numbers of people who just left a bar for DUI stop?

What about polictical affiliation?

What about adding ur political opponent for Sherriff to this list to get him pulled over, or adding names of people who have filed complaints against police in the past? It's not harrasment if the computer decides you should be pulled over...?

 

or maybe not black with a nice car.. or even a POS car driving on the NJ turnpike

ask my cousin ..owner of the GS 400.. ask him how many times ppl assume him for a drug dealer..

you know what its like to put all your hard earn money into something you can enjoy .. an automobile you can be proud of.. and just because you can afford it.. everyone gets the wrong impression of you? half of you will never understand

 

I understand what it's like to be under suspicion based upon your race - try being a caucasian living in an Arab country...

People look at my car, see an almost-30-somthing white guy driving a 6-y/o car and they think nothing about it. I'm able to slip into the background that way. I judge people on their cars, but not always in a bad way. If I see an aisan kid in a riced out honda then I think he's just like every other kid with a car - wants to express himself etc. If I see a black guy in a new merc or lexus I think that it's really cool that minorities are more and more able to succeed.

If I see a 16/yo kid in a new merc, I think; "Punk kid driving daddy's car!"

 

Overall, not really. But on this issue I would say that I lean towards their point of view

Not in the least. It may be pointed out that the article that you posted stated that the system will scan the tag number to see if the vehicle has been reported stolen or reported as used in a crime. If you're registration or insurance has lapsed and you're driving on public roads, then you clearly deserve to be pulled over and tickted. No question about it.

Have you ever been in an accident with an uninsured driver? I haven't and hope I never am. I've know people who drive without insurance and that is scary.

I think that is a fantastic idea! Someone very close to me has had more than one DUI in the past 6 years. If I knew that the police had their tag number on file and could pull them over at any time to check if they'd been drinking it would be great. It would go great lengths in preventing repeat DUI offenders, and portecting that person and the community.

Well, I don't think that personal information other than your name should be included for obvious reasons. This includes sex (although it can often be determined from the name), race, political standing, income, etc.

Records of traffic convictions and criminal records are all good though.

No, you're right, and that would clearly be abuse of the system. However we'd never hear about it, because as we all know, police can pull over whom ever they'd like whenever they'd like. That's just the way it is.

 

Sprite. You're right. I'm a white male in a mostly white community. I've never been a victim of racial profiling and most likely never will. I don't pretend to understand what many people in this nation are going through, although I do sympathize and realize that it is a common problem.

However, that doesn't change how I feel about this system. Police can do this anyways. They can run a plate at anytime and get any information that they would like. This system would just alert them of problem vehicles automatically. Just think how many criminals, people without insurance or valid registration haven't gotten tickets because the police were behind them, but just didn't run their plates. I don't think anyone will argue that those people deserve to be pulled over and should be.

 

boobies! boobies! BOOBIES!

 

about 1% of victims of Racial Profiling are driving illegaly.. but do you think its fare to the other 99% who are getting harrased?

you want to know how it feels.. go to the ghetto at about 2 am in the morning.. i have seen alot of white people harrased by cops because the police think they are buying drugs.. ..

think of it this way.. you have to drive through a minority ghetto every day from work.. this is your only way home.. but every night.. a different cop on the force stops you.. pulls you out of your car.. searches you.. harrasses you for 20 mins every night.. and you are dead tired and all you want do is go home and sleep..

do you think its fair to you and other people like you to be stopped for 20 mins every night.. because 1% of the white people in that neighborhood at 2 in the morning are buying drugs?

 

Thought it needed to be lightened up......and im white(italian), and 1/2 the time grew up in a black neighborhood until i was 16 (when i stopped seeing my father). So i know of what your talking about sprintmax. Some of my jail time is from helping my friends out with biggotry. When you see firsthand that you are a presumed a thief or with one because of color its dishearting. One of my best friends has more money then what he knows what to do with and it sucks to go places with him because of the "drug dealer,thief,thug,pimp,etc." stereotype. Later bro, Charles

 

No, not at all. Of course its not fair. Sprite, you're changing what I said.

The topic is this plate scanning system. It wouldn't and should care about anything personal. Just the facts. If you're registration is expired, it will go off. Black, White, Orange, whatever. It wouldn't care.

Don't make this a racial profiling argument thread....nobody in here is disagreeing with you. I think its wrong, and realize that it exists. That's just not what I'm talking about.

Not trying to offend anyone of course.

 

I am sorry.. i got caught up in the other thread and thought this was a spin off.. yeah.. if they are checking plates.. nothing wrong with that.. as long as they are not pulling people over and being ****s about it..

 

Furthermore...this could lower instances of racial profiling...

Cops are human, and most humans are lazy by nature (including me of course!). If they had a system that would tell them when they should pull someone (void of knowing that persons race) they may just stick to that system.

The computer would not care about race, and if only people pointed out by the system (minus speeding and other traffic violations) were pulled over, it could do nothing but help reduce the common racial profiling.

Its a streach, but in a perfect world it would help...

<Edit>Missed a very important word in there </Edit>

 

To anyone who does'nt know this. You're plates, license are all public information in the United States. Any citizen, ANY CITIZEN has access to your info from the secretary of states officec or you DMV. Police included. You're next door neighbor can get a ton of info on you from your plates and dl#. Its all public information. Absolutely nothing to do with amendment violations. Kind of sucks though.

 

You're numbers are completely fabricated. You have absolutely no idea of what you're talking about. Show me you're references. Actually you dont have any. I know this, because I see the "REAL" reasons 95% of people ARE stopped. Totally legit. Just cuz you dont have any idea why the police stopped them doesnt make it profiling. Example. You're driving obeing all traffic laws, plates come back clear etc. Absolutely nothing wrong with you or you're car. The police stop you , have you exit, search you, you're car and find nothing. They let you go and tell you nothing, which the Supreme court has ruled we dont have to tell you unless under arrest. Anyhow, you leave puzzled, violated and think wtf was that about. Its a common occurence for people to call 911 and fabricate an allegation w/description. Person had a gun, plate so and so. They sometimes do this for fun, or to draw police away from a certain area when they have a shipment or something elso going on. This happens everyday. Its that easy to get the police to stop you. Make a B.S call and see what happens. Although there might be laws that prohibit this where you live. Not in Chgo. Or yes, you fit the description. Thats all reasonable police work. What I'm saying is racial profiling, at least here in Chgo. is not an issue. Its formulated from the publics perception of the stop, and their lack of knowledge of court rulings dealing with what the police can do. Its a simple as that. I 've had dozens of minority people stopped who claimed "its cuz Im black" etc. After I took care of any saftey issues at hand I explained to them from the beggining
how it came to be that I stopped them. And all of them understood the reason and many apologized for their reaction towards me. This would clear up alot o the views from some members on this board. But this is up to the officer if he wants to volunteer this info, its not required, or law. But it is good to do, when practical and the situation allows. And yes, there are some ***holes out there, but again dont make everyone an ***hole.
Thats like saying since 9/10 people I arrest are black, all blacks are criminals. No merit whatsoever.

 

did you see where i said "about"

you know what that means? it means i am assuming.. calm down.. you noticed i didn't comment in the other thread?

settle down buddy..

 

And also Officer Pete.. before you assume my opinions of Police Officers.. please view the following threads and then get back to me..

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....&highlight=pig
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....&highlight=pig
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....ghlight=police

 

El Jeffo is watching if you get my drifto. This is borderline OT from the get go. Keep it civil and informative.

 

I've read you're posts in the past. I apologize, Didn't want to come across like I was attacking you. You're numbers though are misleading to some uninformed people on this board.

 

if i was unclear to anyone i appologize..

my numbers are clearly based on what i see and assume.. they are not actual figures taken from anywhere

maybe i should have put down the fine print..























the robot can never be wrong

 

I tried to trace a licence number of a guy once. In Ohio you have to be a cop, state-employed investigator (ie fire etc) or registered PI. The general populous cannot get an addy from a licence#. Cuts dowin on people taking road-rage to yer house later that night...

 

There are programs that all you have to do is pay a certain amount and you can trace all you want. Don't think they can't get a hold of your information if someone really wanted to.

 

If !% is incorrect and where's the proof??

My personal number is 66% of the time I did nothing I'm used to law enforcement ppl of all types being around me every day so I don't flinch when I see, speak, or eat at a cop's or Fed's house.. Only thing suspicious about me is my color which is know to run drugs up and down the east coast from Jersey..

About the subject of the thread, I'm indifferent at this point.. Yes it could help run plates but what else would it be looking for as time goes on.. Everyone does something illegal.. I jay walked during lunch today so if they had a face reconition system I would have a ton of Jay walkin' tickets("but it's cold out." "so what it's illegal") in my mailbox by Monday. I would probably end up in jail cause I would have so many fines and so would alot of poor ppl.. In a sense this system seems to want to put ppl in Jail soon enough the reins will be tightened an noone will be able to move with out it being some kind of automated violation.. LOL Remember the movie with Sly Stalone and Wesley Snipes(forgot the name)??

 

Demolition man? Rotten movie.

 

In MD you can.. Pay $5-10 to the DMV but you have to provide your info as well and they file it. I don't recall if VA and DC has the same thing..

 

I agree with you. And I'm a liberal by the way. My license plate is photographed every time I go through an EZ Pass lane. When it first came out I didn't like the idea that a system tracked my entry/exit times, because obviously it could calculate mph on the roadway. Today I say so what?

I am all for cameras at intersections and automated moving violations. Why not? Does technology take away a person's right to run lights or speed? How was that ever a right? When it comes to fraud and crime related to cars, I believe the more technology the better.

 

I guess one would have to ask how far does it go? How about a tracking device connected to NAV that the police has access to? So they can track your every move? That way if a car is stolen, they can tract you where ever the car is. Sounds good but then they could access your speed, see if you ran a red, rolled though a stop sign, forgot to renew your regist, etc.. With obd-11+, they could easily hook that up too and see when you car is not running within the state/federal emission requirements and then fire off some more tickets in the male. To identify you, they could require some type of id access so even though the police didn't actually witness the violations, they can know when you are driving the car(and what the car is doing) via a thumbprint access.

For some, it's just another step toward Gov't control and the lessening of our free rights as Americans.

 

I agree. But in the case of the system mentioned in the beginning of the thread, it isn't adding any monitoring. Just makeing the same work easier for cops.

Think of it to running plates as a radar gun is to speeding. Yeah, a cop could just pace you, but the gun makes it easier.

 

If lawbreakers got busted, those who don't break the law would pay far less over many costs. The latest insurance fraud billboard I've seen in Philly is one with 2 odometers on it: one is the reported commute of 2.9 miles, and the actual commute of 53.9 miles. Again, it asks people to turn in their coworkers who falsely report their commutes to the insurance companies. My guess is it doesn't work unless someone has a grudge against someone else, so it's a bad way to gain compliance. But think about it, why should someone be able to obtain a lower premium simply by lying? We're all paying for it. I think cameras are actually implemented as a deterrent more than anyone else. But common sense says if you can sneak a webcam into a very precarious location for minimal cost, you can use cameras for motor vehicles situations as well.

 

In the US, yes. In the UK, they're a little more willing to give up some of their privacy. I, for one am not willing to give up any of my 4th amendment rights, no matter how much some nimwit would try to convince me it'd make me safer (because I know better!)

for the most part, if you're in a public place, you are obviously giving up some of your privacy by definition. However, when government enters your personal property or person, that's when the questions get much more serious. As I said earlier, I'd rather have the government keep their mitts off me and let me protect myself.

But that's a dream these days, with all these numbed, confused, terrified Americans whining for their government to care for them. Well, watch out, because we just might get what they asked for. It's really scary.

So, why is this thread not closed yet??

.

 

"He who would sacrifice a little liberty to gain a little temporary safety deserves neither..." -- Ben Franklin

.

 

Gotta also love the face-recognition system in use in major UK cities - if the computer recognises a wanted crim then the police are dispatched to make final ID and arrest, if needed. They also have cameras reading licence plates at various places throughout the country - they send tim/date/plate info back to central computer that works out average speed between cameras; over limit = computerized ticket in the mail.

How easy would it be for a programmer on that system to type in a reg number and find out the movements of that car for the last few months. A car that road-raged him, for example. He types in the licence# and finds out it's on the M1 at Junction 36 heading North towards Leeds... Are we scared yet?

Ok, time 2 lock. I'm done.

 

Hasty resolutions are of the nature of vows, and to be equally avoided. -- William Penn

 

Penn?? That liberal puritan *****!



.

 

When the inherited wisdom of our forefathers fails us, childish insults will always see us through. - Scruit

 

How did this turn into a thread about racial profiling.. that has nothing to do with what the original poster was talking about.

What is wrong with a system that tells a cop which car is stolen, or has been reported for use in some illegal activity, or has no insurance/registration? As far as I can tell, the only people that should have a problem with this are those planning to do something illegal!!?!

Far be it for me to interpret the intentions of the founding fathers, but from what I have gathered, the system was never meant to work in favor of criminals. As a law abiding citizen, I have no problem with a cop knowing whether or not my car is registered/insured/stolen, etc.

The more stolen cars that the police recover, the lower our insurance rates. The more uninsured motorists that are taken off the road, the lower your chances of getting into insurance hell after getting into an accident with one.

-Tom Z.

 

Uh...tomZ17 has a point. Cops already do this when they pull you over. If there's nothing to pull you over for when they run the check, then they won't. Less trouble for the innocent, more for the guilty. I'm not quite seein as how anyone would appose this. All they did was make it automatic. Why don't you guys argue weather automatic doors should be outlawed and that the descriminate against minorities.

Okay, I'm done.