Letter to the editor from Greenwich Police Chief James Heavey
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the privacy risks supposedly posed by “Flock cameras.” Automated license plate readers, or LPRs, are in fact an extremely valuable tool for law enforcement, and it’s time to clear up some of the misinformation surrounding them. LPRs simply read and record license plates as cars pass, logging the plate number, timestamp, location and sometimes an image of the vehicle. That data is checked against a “hotlist,” automated alerts for stolen vehicles, AMBER Alerts, and wanted or missing persons linked to a plate. It can also be used afterward, as part of an investigation, to see what vehicles were in an area when a crime occurred. Continue Reading →
