So you didn't recently post a link to an article that Maryland is looking to remove the requirement for officers to review speed camera tickets?
I did. These are two different topics, although police do figure in both.
1. My issue with automated enforcement is that at its heart it is a profit making enterprise, not having any relation to making citizens safer, which is what traffic enforcement should be focussed on.
2. My issue with Automated License Plate Readers (APLRs) is that IMO it's a Bad Idea for govt to engage in wholesale surveillance of its citizens just in case at some point that citizen might needs their whereabouts tracked. This tech is sold as being able to find criminals and stolen cars. But while its pitched that way, what it also does is generate gargantuan databases of all citizens movements. When it first came out there was a lot of hue and cry about this. So what happened is that it got privatized. So the govt can say with an honest face "We don't maintain such databases!!!!" But they do pay to access the private ones. Which doesn't make tracking citizens right. To me this smacks very much of the Stasi having citizen informers in every building and listening in on like 90% of the citizens phone calls.
It could be made safe. Ensure the data gets wiped after a while. Ensure that police hits are only for crimes in which the public good requires such means. Tripping every expired plate or insurance is just. Hell there have been cases where letters have been sent to peoples houses saying "Your plate has been spotted in an area known for drug trafficking or prostitution.
Don't be in the wrong place at the wrong time for too long!
reason.com
qz.com
I'm not a fan of the govt having mass surveillance of citizens at their fingertips.
