A new report from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa suggests that the use of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) is increasing across the state.
Rita Bettis Austen, legal director for the ACLU of Iowa, stated that Iowa taxpayers have been spending substantial collective amounts in recent years to acquire these high-tech surveillance systems.
The report is based on findings from a team of student researchers, led by University of Iowa Law professor Megan Graham, who filed open records requests with 48 Iowa law enforcement agencies regarding ALPRs.
The research revealed specific examples of this expansion, noting that Cedar Rapids, for instance, has secured a two-year, half-million-dollar contract with Flock Safety for the installation of 76 cameras. Furthermore, Professor Graham highlighted a significant finding from the reviewed records: law enforcement agencies currently exhibit a wide variation in policies governing the use of the license plate reader images, which inherently capture sensitive data such as location and time stamps.
