ACLU Probes License Plate Scanners

The civil liberties group plans to saturate police departments with requests for information about privacy-threatening automated license plate reader technology

NEW YORK –American Civil Liberties Union affiliates in 38 states, including Nebraska, sent requests today to local police departments and state agencies that demand information on how they use automatic license plate readers (ALPR) to track and record Americans'movements.

In Nebraska, letters were sent to the state's three largest law enforcement offices: the Nebraska State Patrol, Omaha Police Department and the Lincoln Police Department.

In addition, the ACLU and the ACLU of Massachusetts filed federal Freedom of Information Act requests with the departments of Justice, Homeland Security and Transportation to learn how the federal government funds ALPR expansion nationwide and uses the technology itself. ACLU of Nebraska sent additional letters to the Department of Roads and the Nebraska Information Analysis Center to determine their role in funding ALPR programs.