License Plate Reader (LPR) Scandals Show Need For Legislative Priority Reform (LPR)

By John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College

Georgia and other states have been rocked by a series of scandals related to Automated License-Plate Readers (ALPRs), whereby law enforcement officers have been investigated, and in some cases fired, for abuses of the data, using these to track people for reasons unrelated to law enforcement purposes, and often those related to personal use and misuse of the system.

As the Institute for Justice reports “The proliferation of police surveillance has led to repeated abuse. One shockingly common form: police officers using ALPR camera networks to keep tabs on their romantic interests, including current partners, exes, and even strangers who unwittingly caught their eye in public.  An ongoing review of media reports and public records by the Institute for Justice has identified at least 21 cases nationwide of officers allegedly abusing ALPR data this way, with the bulk of those incidents happening since 2024. Nearly all of these officers were criminally charged and lost their jobs, either by resigning or getting fired.”

The IJ adds “Flock Safety and other ALPR providers emphasize that they have internal safeguards to prevent this kind of misuse. But only a few of the 21 analyzed cases were initially discovered through internal investigations, according to media reports. Most incidents came to light only after victims reported the officers’ behavior to the police, typically in the context of a broader stalking allegation.” Several Georgia officers made their list.

Years ago, my students and I worked with State Representative John Pezold, a West Georgia Republican, on a bill designed keep ALPRs as a law enforcement tool, but to also limit the uses of the system. Current scandals show that the potential for abuse remains, so I interviewed former Rep. Pezold about the bill, and what can be done to strengthen it.

Q: How did you get interested in the issue of ALPRs?

A: I was talking with a LEO and in learning about his job, we started talking about the cameras on the front and back of his car. I remember thinking that it was a great tool for law enforcement but certainly saw potential for abuse.

Q: What was the name (and bill) on ALPRs that we worked on for you? I’ll cover what we found.

A: I don’t think we had a catchy name for the bill. It was just HB 79, and I commonly referred to it as “the license plate reader bill”

Q: What was good about the ALPR bill?

A: We originally stipulated that the LPR data had to be purged from their system within 30 days or so, but the Sheriff’s Association took issue with that, so they requested that they be allowed to keep the data for 30 months. I still think that was excessive, but I didn’t want to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. 

But my FAVORITE part of the bill was the requirement that the data ONLY be used for law enforcement purposes and not be subject to open records requests. No citizen should be allowed to use this data to track the whereabouts of other citizens.

Q: What happened with the length of time whereby data would be purged unless there was an active warrant?

A: As I said, initially the timeframe was around 30 days, but that was a dealbreaker with law enforcement groups. We finally settled on 30 months. I’d be interested to see how many cold cases have been solved using LPR data that’s more than 2 years old.

Q: Should the Georgia legislature seek a new bill on ALPRs? What should it focus on…purging data? Greater penalties for abuse, etc.?

A: I’d like to see the data on how many crimes have been solved using 30 month old LPR data. I think that limit could certainly be reduced. Mandatory audits of every agency’s accessing of the data should DEFINITELY be included in any future legislation. In fact, it’s my understanding that these 9 recent arrests came about because after 8 years these particular counties finally performed an audit. If other agencies follow suit, I think you’d see a lot of arrests being made of these bad actors.

Q: Think there’s any bipartisanship in the Georgia General Assembly, enough for a compromise?

A: Bipartisanship was never really a concern in the passage of this bill, or in an overwhelming majority of bills passed in the legislature. I think the biggest thing I heard from colleagues was “Well, I’ve gotta see what my sheriff thinks about this bill before I can form an opinion,” Most sheriffs and chiefs of police will be hesitant to place any limit on the authority they have. It goes against human nature. But these systems have the potential for abuse, and let’s never forget that ultimately they are operated by human beings. There must be safeguards in place!

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu or on “X” at @johntures2. His first book “Branded” a thriller novel where corporate greed, media manipulation and academic intrigue collide in a deadly game of product placement, has been published by the Huntsville Independent Press (https://www.huntsvilleindependent.com/product-page/branded). His second novel, “Independent Thought,” about a third-party candidacy that brings America to its knees, is coming out later this summer with HIP (https://www.huntsvilleindependent.com/).