Salt Lake Police Chief Brian Redd is in a tricky position. The department has been using automatic license plate readers, or ALPRs, for years. But now there’s a contentious public debate taking shape: How should police be using these cameras?
On one side, they’re a tool that can help police catch criminals more efficiently. On the other, many people believe they rob citizens of their privacy.
According to DeFlock, a website that tracks ALPR locations, there are more than 400 of these small black cameras dotted across Salt Lake County. Redd’s department operates 70 of those and can request access from other departments’ cameras, as well. They take photos of license plates, and law enforcement can use the data to track vehicles suspected of being involved in a crime…