SALT LAKE CITY – AI-powered license plate readers are becoming an important tool for law enforcement agencies across Utah. Although these can help apprehend dangerous suspects, they raise privacy concerns.
This controversial topic is back in the spotlight in Utah after police used the technology to arrest two murder suspects.
In recent weeks, local law enforcement agencies used license plate recognition systems to track down a man accused of killing three women in Wayne County. Police found him in Colorado.
The other suspect, who was wanted for murder in Las Vegas, was found in Roy. LPR cameras take images of passing cars and upload their license plates and vehicle details to a searchable database.
Companies provide us with all kinds of information about our users that we may not be aware of.
Public concerns about privacy
The Provo City Council recently held a meeting to address the public’s growing concerns about technology.
“Provo’s participation in the Flock Safety Network will help effectively create a nationwide mass surveillance network for all citizens who drive on our highways, including those of us who have not been charged with a crime,” residents said at the meeting.
The Provo City Council recently held a meeting to address the public’s growing concerns about technology.
During the meeting, Flock Safety spokesperson Lily Ho outlined several safety measures designed to protect how data is stored and used.
“As a customer, you have complete control over what we do with your data and how long we keep it. [and] Who to share it with? “Your data will be automatically deleted according to the retention period. We do not intend to sell or share your data with others,” Ho said. You are in complete control. ”
Officials say the cameras can help solve cases and avoid large-scale outages, but residents want stricter restrictions and evidence of restraints.
Law enforcement uses AI technology to track and find potential criminals
Investigators argue that even when license plates are missing, AI can narrow down the list of suspect vehicles, reducing widespread intrusive stops and focusing on a smaller number of likely matches.
Lt. Brian Taylor of the Provo Police Department said the technology also helped identify the vehicle’s characteristics, which helped pinpoint the suspect’s location.
“AI search capabilities that literally touch the fingerprint of a vehicle allow us to do more than just look for a license plate,” Taylor said.
But critics worry that expanding camera networks could turn into mass surveillance and retain too much information.
AI researcher Kenneth Marino, assistant professor at the University of Utah’s Carlat School of Computing, discusses the capabilities of these cameras, their benefits and limitations, and the ethical considerations of AI.
“These are computer vision systems that take a video feed or a still image, and in this case, recognize a license plate,” Marino said. “It’s called optical character recognition, and it’s very accurate. So with these cameras, we can know very precisely which license plate is identified by which camera.”
AI researcher Kenneth Marino, assistant professor at the University of Utah’s Carlat School of Computing, spoke to Deanie Wimmer about the capabilities of these cameras, their benefits and limitations, and the ethical considerations of AI.
He says the camera can do more than that.
“With images, it’s very easy to identify a person from their face. If the car is very unique, you can probably identify the car as well,” Marino says. “This information, if not properly secured, could be used for all kinds of tracking of individuals.”
Marino cited concerns about mass surveillance and the technical limitations of the technology.
“I think this is a place where people should really speak up and try to understand technology and its capabilities better,” he says. “If protections aren’t in place and people don’t understand how they’re being used, that’s not a dystopian or unrealistic concern.”
In response to public concerns, Provo City PD officials are pointing to a public transparency portal and an internal audit that ties the incident number and reason for every search.
“It talks about the number of cars and license plates that are read in the city.
“This is an indication of the number of searches that Provo police officers are conducting in the database,” said Provo Police Department Capt. Robert Patrick.
Patrick said these are motion-triggered photos, not continuous videos. Images are encrypted and uploaded with time, date, and location metadata for a limited retention period.
“When someone drives past the camera, the camera takes a photo, or two or three, and that metadata is attached to the camera,” Patrick says. “It is then encrypted and sent to cloud storage where it is searchable for the next 30 days.”
He said there are multiple audits for each search conducted by the department’s officers. The ministries said they will use short retention periods and multi-factor authentication to prevent long-term storage of movement data, which will be automatically deleted after a set period.
“They have to have a reason. They have internal audits and monthly audits,” Patrick said. “On the 31st day, the first day’s worth of data will be erased and no one can access it.”
Once an agency opts in, a national investigation will reveal whether the plate in question is still associated with a case number in another jurisdiction and is subject to a local audit.“We have access to LPR cameras from all over the country,” Patrick said. “Others who participate in the national database can also search our data. There needs to be a reason for the search that police can audit.”
Information may no longer be private
Cities and developers can use smartphone technology to see what kind of business is being done. [you go to]they can find out your age, income, education, books you’ve read, and even how many cars you own.
“I don’t think people realize how much information you’re giving away to private companies. We ask our viewers at home how many apps you currently have on your phone, how many apps have permission to see your location data, and who you’re allowed to share your location data with,” Marino said.
He said some uses of this data may be minor. Companies may be using this to provide you with targeted advertising, but they are not necessarily infringing on your rights.
“This technology and data could also be sold to third parties you didn’t expect. It could be subpoenaed or passed on to government agencies or the federal government without your knowledge,” Marino said. “I think there are a lot of issues with private companies and data that people need to be aware of.”
Marino said these issues and concerns need to be brought up publicly so individual users understand their rights.
“I think this is an area of fundamental values, privacy, control over your data, control over your life, and how much the government knows about you,” Marino said. “Every citizen should have their voice heard and this is truly a democratic issue.”
