The Telegraph reports that Police in the UK record the movements of every British motorist, on average, almost 100 times per year. That’s an amazing figure, especially when you consider these images can be stored for as long as two years, although access to the stored data does become more strict after 90 days.
It is calculated the combined forces across Britain capture as many as 3 billion images per year using Automatic Number Plate Recognition. With 34 million registered vehicles in the UK that’s a lot of snaps of the Average Joe that are being kept on file.
Police say the images can help them solve crimes by tracking the movements of cars that are suspected of being involved in criminal behaviour. Not surprisingly civil rights campaigners are starting to ask a few questions.
Charles Hendry, Tory MP for Wealden, said: “There is a balance that needs to be struck between fighting crime and infringing the freedom of the law-abiding public.
“We all accept number-plate recognition enables the police to track and arrest a significant number of criminals and to make our communities safer, but these increases are really startling.
“Law-abiding people should feel they can go about their business without being snooped on by the State.”
I wonder how long it will be before Australian authorities cotton on to this idea?
[Source: Telegraph.co.uk]
One reply on “I know what you did last summer”
It’s difficult to see how a society that treats everybody like a criminal can continue to peacefully prosper. Warrantless raids anyone? http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/12/2653998.htm?site=news