Virginia has no laws specific to license plate readers, but a county judge and the state supreme court say keeping the data violates state privacy law.
Charles County Sheriff Senior Detective Charles Baker has two tiny cameras on the roof of a cruiser that automatically scans license plates. The information is processed on a computer.
The challenge to the practice was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia on behalf of Harrison Neal, a Fairfax man whose license plate and location had been recorded at least twice by the police. The ACLU said Monday that it “welcomes this ruling in favor of our client, as this technology should not be used to monitor the comings and goings of people’s daily lives.”
In Virginia, there is no law regarding license plate readers. But the “Data Act” states that “The Commonwealth or any agency or political subdivision thereof shall not collect personal information except as explicitly or implicitly authorized by law.” In 2013, the Virginia State Police asked then-state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II if, under that law, they could maintain license plate data.
After legislation failed, the ACLU sued in Fairfax, seeking an injunction against the “passive collection” of license plate data beyond an immediate need or existing criminal investigation. In 2016, Judge Smith granted Fairfax’s motion to dismiss the case, saying that “license plate number” is not included in the Data Act’s definition of “personal information.
The license plate database “does enable police officers to cross-reference ALPR [automated license plate reader] data with the identity of an individual,” Smith wrote. “The Police Department’s ‘passive use’ of the ALPR system therefore violates the Data Act.”
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