Resident warns council against adopting ALPR/PlateSmart surveillance technology
Summary
A resident told council automatic license-plate readers (ALPRs) like PlateSmart are surveillance tools that misidentify vehicles, collect excessive data, and create privacy and security risks; the speaker cited an EFF study and urged the borough not to adopt the cameras.
A resident who identified themself as a concerned citizen told the council that automatic license-plate readers, often called ALPRs, are being sold as safety tools but function as broad surveillance systems.
The speaker said "We're being sold a surveillance system disguised as a safety tool" and argued that ALPR systems "track vehicles even without plates" and can "fingerprint your car by make, model, dents, scratches, bumper stickers." The commenter cited a 2021 Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) study and alleged vulnerabilities in vendor software, urging the borough to reject PlateSmart-style systems and to avoid surveillance that they said could be misused by law enforcement or exposed to hackers.
Council acknowledged the comment and said the information would be taken into account; a council member noted that related items had previously been considered and voted on.
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