Automated License Plate Recognition [wiki] or ALPR technology is not exactly new: it was invented in 1976 and is currently used to for traffic congestion control in London.
Canada is testing out a portable system using a specially outfitted police cars: cameras on the outside of the car will automatically scan license plates of cars as the policeman drives - and the computer will ping if it finds a match of the license plate with a hit from databases of stolen vehicles, outstanding warrants, etc.
Predictably, critics are accusing the system as being Big Brother-worthy. Oh, and see if you can find the "irony" in the video clip. Hint: it's a guy driving.
Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] - Thanks matthew!
Comments (10)
No seatbelt.
Then we'll have fixed camera pointing in all direction, so we'll know who goes where and when.
No, no, no, that won't happen, because this is the Land of the Free. In the UK though, yes, they're well past that point.
or there's still the electromagnetic pulse thingy, but my hardware store ran out of it ;)
I like this idea, anything that can help catch criminals before they commit another crime is good in my books.
Besides, I don't care if the police have a record of where I park my car.
My understanding:
Police regularly keep track of licence plates in certain areas, parked or not. Sometimes, a plate is kept in their records for a few weeks, in case any crimes are reported.
Any time you're stopped in traffic near a cop, they're running plates through their computer. This just does it faster.
For anyone who is unable to view the video or would just prefer to read the content in text form, we have created a transcript of the video here:
http://public.youtranscript.com/zs/30.html
Thanks, YouTranscript