ACLU questions APD's license tracker

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Albuquerque Police have a handy tool that snaps pictures of license plates to help nab car thieves, but now there is concern they could also be using it to keep tabs on innocent drivers.

The American Civil Liberties' Union of New Mexico, along with other ACLU chapters in 37 states, have requested law enforcement agencies to turn over its records on how it uses their automatic license plate readers and how long the data is stored.

Six APD cars are outfitted with the discreet, mounted cameras that are turned on to take pictures of license plates in the hopes of getting hits on cars that are reported stolen locally and nationwide. The plates are cross-checked with the NCIC, or National Crime Information Center database.

Officers drive through intersections or up and down parking lots at crowded events, such as at the state fair, Isotopes ballpark or Balloon Fiesta, and scan through all cars.

"There's no way we can target a plate, and there's no way the officer can say, 'I'm going to go after this person in this car,'" said Dep. Chief Paul Feist with the Albuquerque Police Department.

APD said pictures of all those plates, including what time and where the car was, are then stored in a database for six months.

The ACLU said it has a big problem with that.

"Unless this data is actually connected to suspected criminal activity or actual criminal activity, it shouldn't be kept at all," said Steve Allen, Director of Public Policy at the ACLU.

Allen said law enforcement agencies could use the pictures of plates as surveillance on where innocent citizens are going and what they're doing.

But APD said it has no intention of tracking whereabouts.

"No one is authorized to enter a license plate of a known person for the purposes of where has he been without a criminal nexus," said Feist.

Feist also said only two people in the entire department can access the database to find out who the license plates belong to. Still, the ACLU said there's no reason to keep the photos of innocent drivers for six months.

"We're not all criminals, so keeping track of everyone and using this type of technology in a broad effort to use surveillance on ordinary citizens is problematic," said Allen.

Feist said the pictures are stored for six months just in case a car is later linked to a crime. He said it takes some time for officers to complete their investigation once a plate becomes a 'hit.' APD said it may buy more license plate readers.

The ACLU also requested information from the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office and State Police. A spokesperson for State Police said it has one active camera in Albuquerque. BCSO stopped using its license plate reader two years ago.