Warnock, Britt question funding for automated license plate readers

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(The Center Square) – Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and Alabama Republican U.S. Sen. Katie Britt want to know how much the Department of Justice spent on automated license plate readers. 

The senators sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, also asking him how much oversight the Department of Justice provides to law enforcement agencies to prevent their misuse. 

Dozens of law enforcement officers across the country are facing criminal charges for using the system for unauthorized purposes, according to the letter sent to Blanche on Tuesday. 

“At least 30 of these cases involve law enforcement officers stalking their current, former, or prospective romantic partners," the senators said in their letter. "These cases demonstrate the importance of strong guardrails and safeguards – such as appropriate access controls, auditing, supervisory review, and meaningful consequences of intentional misuse – to ensure that ALPRs’ tracking capabilities cannot be utilized by rogue bad actors to threaten, manipulate, and inflict harm on unsuspecting victims."

Warnock and Britt are also asking if applicants must disclose misuse of the technology to the Justice Department. 

"Has DOJ audited the use of ALPR systems within federal law enforcement agencies for non-law enforcement purposes, including stalking?" they asked. "What controls are in place to identify unauthorized queries and hold federal personnel accountable for misuse?"

The Institute for Justice's Database of ALPR Abuse cites 244 incidents across the United States, including 81 in Georgia. 

Some law enforcement agencies have stopped using the technology due to privacy concerns. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens is proposing more oversight in his city, including standards for collecting and retaining data from automated license plate readers, mandatory audits and independent oversight by a seven-member committee.

The Atlanta City Council referred the ordinance to committee at its Monday meeting.