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Police no longer have to enter your license plate number; cameras on the exterior of some patrol cars scan passing tags & check data bases for owners & drivers: Electronic scanners can help nab bad guys | NJ.com High-tech license plate reader helps Perth Amboy police track cars | NJ.com
"The automated license plate reader ... takes pictures of every license plate that passes by, then scans it against national and local databases – for stolen cars ..., Amber alerts, suspended licenses, even down to expired registrations. ... the “be on the lookout,” or “BOLO,” list – ... can include information from the National Crime Information Center, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as well as the state Motor Vehicle Commission."
I've seen these on some police cars. Asked the officer driving what they were and he gave me a basic explanation of what they were, and what they did. Big Brother is getting closer and closer.
Plate readers are not as efficient as one would think. Reading the plate takes perfect setup and the interfaces are problematic. They require a significant investment in equipment beyond what's installed in the car. For that reason few agencies will put funds into them.
Recently a article was published in a industry periodical detailing the issues with data overload. You can run thousands of plates but then what do you do with all that data? you can't deal with all of it. Unless it's specifically limited to a serious offenses, it becomes a hindrance. Even with that, the vehicle ownership does not necessarily determine who is actually operating the vehicle. Even manually entering plates has that limitation and policies to follow when a "hit" is obtained.
A lookup at the dispatch center via the DMV / SCIC system is vastly different that what is displayed on today's MDT's. It's a two step process. First is the status. It that results in a reason for the actual stop, it can be moved to the second level giving much more detailed info.
But new software was installed recently so I'm somewhat out of date. But I have never seen insurance info given on a NJ reg through the system. NY lookups had insurance info but it was not prove of a valid policy. Many simply paid a deposit to get a card, then defaulted. Trying to call the company and getting the info is next to impossible. If they do supply, many will only fax or mail to the agency.
Many times [policies that appeared valid at the scene of a mva or between parties that exchange info would be found not to be valid at a later day. But after thirty days , a summons could not be issued. But insurance companies have provided so many ways to get a valid card online there is no reason not to have one any longer.
But NJ will not accept a downloaded card as valid except temporarily, my insurance company told me. I have to wait for the permanent card in the mail. Nearly 20 years ago, my insurance co. raised my rate after I got a ticket, so there must be some connection. Personally I don't like the idea of the government giving out my information to private companies or vice-versa.
There's too much room for abuse. A cop asked for my telephone number a few years ago after he called for help when my car conked out in the middle of the road. The number was unlisted. A few weeks later I started to get calls purporting to be from police charities asking for donations. But the police aren't allowed to make calls like that so I knew it must be a scam and the cop must have given them my number.
Police no longer have to enter your license plate number; cameras on the exterior of some patrol cars scan passing tags & check data bases for owners & drivers: Electronic scanners can help nab bad guys | NJ.com
Interesting that Google street-view must use some similar recognition software specifically designed to detect plate characters, just to enable concealing/obscuring the tags.
Plate readers are not as efficient as one would think. Reading the plate takes perfect setup and the interfaces are problematic. They require a significant investment in equipment beyond what's installed in the car. For that reason few agencies will put funds into them.
Scanning does not require a perfect environment. There are false alerts, usually attributed to duplicate plates from other states. As far as investment, the opposite is true. More agencies are purchasing the readers, and those that have them are buying more units. Also, the price has dropped, and the federal government is providing grants.
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Originally Posted by rscalzo
Recently a article was published in a industry periodical detailing the issues with data overload. You can run thousands of plates but then what do you do with all that data? you can't deal with all of it. Unless it's specifically limited to a serious offenses, it becomes a hindrance. Even with that, the vehicle ownership does not necessarily determine who is actually operating the vehicle. Even manually entering plates has that limitation and policies to follow when a "hit" is obtained.
No link? Manual entry is a safety procedure, to confirm hits.
Those days are gone. The average cost for a LPR is about 14K. That cost can vary greatly depending on how much of the required hardware is already in place. In our case, MDT's were recently installed but the network servers would be required to be upgraded. Many agencies buy them with funds from other than their town budgets. small towns are going to be hard pressed to fund them at this time.
All plates require a Hit Confirmation although now that's been simplified from the old legacy system. Even still I've seen confirmed hits that were bogus. I could see the use in our shopping centers where stolen cars get dumped.
I see it under the "nice to have" but not the first item to buy.
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But NJ will not accept a downloaded card as valid except temporarily
I understand that but it was never intended to be more than a temporary measure until the permanent car can arrive. In fact Geico now has a smartphone app that displays a digital copy of your ID card. As far as the suitability for use while operating, NJ specifies possession of a card " supplied by the insurance company". Downloaded cards are supplied by the insurance company as are the digital versions. NJ has failed to keep up with the newer technology. Both fit the description as stated in the NJ DMV documents.
In fact the ID Card Approvals and Measure Description-Permanent Cards -N.J. Department of Banking and Insurance document addresses the use of temporary cards which as per their regulations are valid for a ten day period. In no way are they a counterfeit card. The digital issue is probably too new and untested.
ACLU opposition is the best advertisement. Report: 85 Percent Of Law Enforcement Agencies Will Have License Plate Readers Within The Next Five Years
"The price of license plate reader systems is likely to fall precipitously as the technology becomes an increasingly common law enforcement fixture. It’s already fallen substantially over the past few years, after a boom in sales prompted by federal funding for the technologies to state and local police departments nationwide. Whereas years ago the tools cost upwards of $30k per system, some companies are now selling them for as little as $8k a pop."
Quote:
Originally Posted by rscalzo
I see it under the "nice to have" but not the first item to buy.
Insurers don't like applicants & clients being less than frank about their driving records.
As if insurance companies are honest about the service they will provide. If you give false information to an insurance company in obtaining your insurance, they may be able to deny and claim for benefits.
Paranoid much? Post hoc ergo propter hoc? Did the police also give your number to companies offering lower interest rates? To clean your carpets?[/quote]
More like using Occam's razor in this case. There is no reason to believe it would benefit police to give information to a carpet-cleaning company. When it is very unlikely that the people involved could obtain my telephone number by any other means, and it's been shown that there are a number of phonies who call you soliciting funds supposedly for the police, and one calls you soon after you've given your number to a policeman, the logical connection is pretty solid. BTW, I think it's illegal for the police themselves to solicit by telephone, or at least it's against their policy.
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Paranoid much? Post hoc ergo propter hoc? Did the police also give your number to companies offering lower interest rates? To clean your carpets?
