LPR Technology | MPH-900 | License Plate Reader

A demo Mobile Plate Hunter 900 Series camera is mounted on a patrol car to scan license plates.

Despite lingering concerns about data storage and privacy, Columbia City Council members last night voted 4-2 in favor of the Columbia Police Department’s use of license plate scanning equipment in its patrol cars.

A demo computer system made by ELSAG North America scans license plate numbers. Four of the scanners are being bought by the Boone County Sheriff’s Department with grant money, and two will be given to Columbia police.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Department is using part of a $200,000 COPS — Community Oriented Policing Services — technology grant to purchase four automatic license plate readers, two of which will soon be used by city police. The readers scan and process license plate numbers of vehicles parked on streets or driving nearby, and a computer instantly cross-references the numbers with a database containing those of wanted vehicles or suspects linked to those vehicles.

Opponents’ arguments centered on the appropriateness of storing the data, which would essentially be the scanned license plate numbers of predominantly non-offenders. Columbia police would have access to the data for 30 days before it would be erased.

Fifth Ward Councilwoman Laura Nauser, who has voiced concerns since the issue arose in April, held firm to her view that monitoring private residents is a trend that should be avoided. Although she acknowledged the potential merits of the license plate readers as a crime-fighting tool, she said she thought there was no justification for keeping data on innocent civilians.

“At the end of the day, if you don’t have a hit on people, that information needs to be purged,” Nauser said.

Police Chief Ken Burton maintained that the technology merely streamlines what police already do when they manually enter license plate numbers into computers. Burton also said best practices recommend a more focused application of the technology and not the random scanning of license plates.

“You don’t just put it in a car and drive across the city,” he said. “You use it in conjunction with calls for service and hot spots. That’s really the place they need to be … in areas where we’re having issues.”

Attorney Dan Viets, president of the Mid-Missouri ACLU, called the cameras “a radical departure from previous law enforcement techniques” and said he thought the two donated cameras for the city police were just “a foot in the door.”

Regarding data retention, he noted that the state’s Open Meetings and Records Law allows anyone to request access to the data, and therefore anyone could maintain the data indefinitely.

Sixth Ward Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe shared Nauser’s concerns and made a motion to amend the ordinance to require that data not be retained. That amendment was voted down 4-2.

Mayor Bob McDavid said he “respectfully disagreed” with the privacy argument. “The point is there’s going to be four license plate recognition scanners in Boone County. The only question is: Are two going to be used by Columbia Police Department?” McDavid said.

Nauser and Hoppe cast the dissenting votes. First Ward Councilman Paul Sturtz was absent.

Police plate readers win approval