Release: Committee hears bill limiting use of license plate scanner data

Senator Will Kraus

8^th Senatorial District

For Immediate Release:

March 16, 2016

Capitol Building, Room 418

Jefferson City, MO 65101

Contact:

(573) 751-1464

Committee hears bill limiting use of license plate scanner data

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Senate transportation committee heard a bill placing restrictions on law enforcement agencies’ use of data collected from license plate scanners Wednesday.

Senate Bill 1040, sponsored by Sen. Will Kraus (R-Lee’s Summit), would limit the amount of time law enforcement can keep data collected from automatic license plate readers (ALPRs). Keeping the data on hand is an invasion of privacy, Kraus said.

“There are currently no restrictions on how information collected can be used or how long it can be stored,” Kraus said. “Law enforcement should not have the ability to use the data collected from law-abiding citizens in any way they choose.”

The use of an ALPR allows law enforcement to automatically scan vehicles for license plates whose owners have outstanding warrants, allowing them to locate criminals they may not have otherwise found. The major concerns surrounding the devices are how third parties might misuse the information.

“I would not want our law enforcement agencies to be tempted to sell the information they’ve gathered on citizens to marketing firms,” Kraus said. “It is always possible for this information to be leaked or stolen by third parties as well.”

Under the bill, any law enforcement officer who uses the data collected from APLRs improperly, such as personal reasons, would be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.