Behind an Advocacy Response to Controversy

Over the summer, debates have intensified across the U.S. over the use of automated license plate readers (ALPR), specialized cameras that gather license-plate information to help law enforcement address public-safety concerns. With stories emerging of misuse of the technology by police officers, privacy advocates raising concerns about mass surveillance and even late-night comics entering the fray, the Security Industry Association (SIA) felt compelled to step in.

Last week, SIA released a "policy principles and guidance" statement around ALPR, both to advocate around the technology's benefits and to recommend usage guardrails.

"It's a little bit of an exaggeration, but almost every community is evaluating [ALPR firm] Flock [Safety] cameras, or at least there's some discussion about the value of ALPR technology and potential concerns about privacy and tracking," said SIA CEO Don Erickson. "Over the last several months, we realized we have to get a little bit ahead of this... There's the risk of security technology broadly being evaluated in a negative light."

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