ALBANY – The State Assembly’s Consumer Protection Committee held a legislative hearing on Monday to gather information and a range of opinions on Automatic License Plate Reader systems or ALPR’s.
Assembly members met in Albany to gather input from stakeholders on how automatic license plate readers are being used, how data is being collected, how long that information is being held and how it’s being shared.
Throughout the hearing, a series of 10 witnesses presented testimony, including members of law enforcement, who made a strong case for allowing ALPR technology to stay in place in New York, while implementing safeguards to protect constitutional rights.
“ALPR’s have helped us find stolen vehicles, solve burglaries, locate missing children, missing seniors and is vital for officer safety,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney. “We recognize that any technology can be mis-used. Please do not throw out an investigative tool that has been used responsibly for decades. Instead put safeguards in place that will protect New Yorkers, hold criminals accountable and keep the public safe.”
In the Hudson Valley, individual counties and municipalities have taken steps to reign in the use of ALPR’s.
Last month, Ulster County prohibited all county-controlled departments and employees from purchasing, contracting for or deploying Flock Safety license plate readers and similar AI-assisted surveillance tools.
In September, Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi and Sheriff Kirk Imperati withdrew support for the county’s Flock system, leading to the on-going deactivation and removal of roadside cameras.
Just last week, the Orange County Legislature unanimously voted to ban commercial or vendor-linked ALPR systems on county roads.
“I passed some legislation for speed zone cameras and for school areas and other traffic cameras that have very specific restrictions on how they can be used,” said Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson (D, Newburgh) whose 104th District includes Newburgh and Poughkeepsie. “I would think that, at a minimum, we should have those restrictions on these types of cameras. We have to legislate this issue, so that there is no question about the guardrails.”
Assemblyman Anil Beephan (R, East Fishkill, who represents Dutchess County in the 105th District, questioned the amount of time that law enforcement agencies can keep data and whether current restrictions in Dutchess County could potentially hurt the ability to solve crimes.
“The longer time the data is accumulated, the more of a picture it paints of peoples’ activities–millions of people, most of who have not violated any law. That’s a major concern,” said Tyler Nims, Chief Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Officer for the New York State Attorney General’s Office.
Civil liberties experts testified that law enforcement have used data to help ICE officials enforce immigration policy, to track protestors and to hinder reproductive care-seekers across state lines.
“Vulnerable communities are being targeted, trapped and harmed by this technology. It is a huge threat to New Yorkers,” said Corrine Worthington, Advocacy and Community Engagement Manager for the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project. “We really need a statewide, comprehensive, robust system to regulate the use of these technologies to make sure that our constitutional rights are not violated.”
Assemblywoman Nily Rosic (D, Queens), Chair of the Consumer Protection Committee, said there are many bills on the subject currently being considered by the Assembly.
“We lack universal standards in New York. We probably should not leave the protection of New Yorkers up to the discretion of individual agencies and companies,” said Rosic. “Today’s hearing gives us an opportunity to consider this broad spectrum of bills.”
The Assembly did not schedule a floor vote on any new or pending ALPR restriction bills.
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