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SOUTH PORTLAND POLICE PRESS RELEASE (Excerpted for length): LD 1561, the bill seeking to ban the use of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) statewide, is set for a public hearing in front of the Transportation Committee this coming Friday (2/5/10) at 1pm in room 126 at the State House in Augusta. As previously released, in the best interests of public and officer safety, the City of South Portland and the South Portland Police Department, which recently implemented the first ALPR camera in the state, opposes this legislation. South Portland Police Chief Edward Googins commented that “Automated License Plate Recognition technology has huge benefits in law enforcement by providing an additional layer of safety for officers, while improving their effectiveness in keeping our communities safe. It is unfortunate that this proposed legislation has been presented as the best way to protect privacy issues when other, more appropriate, safeguards could be implemented that would balance the expressed privacy concerns with this technology’s ability to provide for the safety of the public and our officers.” Click here for the department’s procedures for using the technology. South Portland police officers handle between 33,000 and 35,000 calls for service each year. Evacuation estimates indicate that the Maine Mall alone, which is located in South Portland, sees over 17 million visitors each year; averaging around 46,000 visitors each day, or 1.4 million visitors each month. These numbers increase during the busier summer and holiday shopping seasons. In fact, on Black Friday alone, there are estimated to be approximately 71,223 vehicles in the area of the Maine Mall, an area patrolled by one police officer. Considering this data and the current climate in which municipalities are being asked to do more with less, the department views the ALPR as a force multiplier. The ALPR can process upwards of 3,000 license plates hour. I compare it to having 200 cops riding around together in the same police car. How priceless could that level of effective and efficient protection be, not if, but when we’re looking for just one dangerous and wanted felon, or one missing child or endangered adult? This bill was introduced based upon privacy concerns raised by the Maine Civil Liberties Union (MCLU). Their concerns stem from law enforcement’s access to what we’re calling a “scan file,” which is simply a list of license plate numbers that the ALPR cruiser drives by during the day that are not contained on the ALPR “hotlist.” In addition to other law enforcement agencies, the following organizations are among those stakeholders who also oppose this legislation: Maine Chiefs of Police Association Maine Association of Police Maine Municipal Association Maine Alzheimer’s Association Maine Family Crisis Services National Insurance Crime Bureau http://www.southportlander.com/index.php/1263/

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