Los Angeles County will no longer be able to hide records of license plates collected from citizens of all stripes that they claimed were investigative records. The California Supreme Court sided with the ACLU and EFF that the automated scanning of license plates were not tied to any particular crime so could not be kept secret as part of a criminal investigation. To protect drivers’ privacy, the trial court will determine how the data is packaged for public view. (Electronic Freedom Foundation, August 31, 2017, press release)
The lawsuit came after EFF had met with no success in filing a public records request for he data. Police use cameras mounted on police cars or light poles to scan license plates and record the date, time and location, even in instances taking a photo of the vehicle and its occupants. The use the data to track criminal suspects and in Amber alerts and child abductions. (The San Diego Union-Tribune, August 31, 2017, by Pauline Repard)