More on ALPR

Two stories that came out in the last week which provide additional information as to how ALPR is currently used.  This should be seen as the starting point for this technology.  Naturally the data collection points and data history will only grow over time:

• GPS data is captured along with the license plate information and stored for long periods of time.  At least several months.  This story shows that government officials are able to enter a license plate and find out where that plate has been over a long stretch of time.  No warrant is needed as the information is publicly available (with the exception of the DMV information that is linked to the plate).
• This article shows that outstanding warrant information of the vehicle's owner is also tagged to licensee plates.  This allows police to get alerted with a plate, owned by someone with an outstanding warrant, is nearby.  Does this provide probable cause for a traffic stop?  Hard to say.  In the article, police are able to see the driver and confirm that they are not the person wanted for a warrant (normally this would be difficult while following a vehicle).  But interestingly, they stop the vehicle anyway for a traffic violation.

Most people don't have a problem with criminals being caught by this technology.  But mark my words, this technology is in the public domain and private companies will take advantage of this at some point.  If a police officer doesn't need a warrant to collect this public information, what's to stop Google/Microsoft/political parties?  And while these public organizations don't have access to DMV records (at least, not easily), they do have access to property records.  What's to stop them from driving through residential neighborhoods to collect plate information along with home address information?  With a database of address/property owners, they would be able to make an educated guess as to who 60% of the plates belong to.  They'll also be able to map out who knows who.

Just like Facebook, except you won't have the option not to join.

ALPR - The all seeing eye of Big Brother

On November 8th, the US Supreme Court is set to hear a case which will determine whether or not police need a warrant to install a GPS tracking device on a vehicle.  The case will certainly be getting a lot more attention in the next few months due to its ability to change how the government views the 4th amendment.

But behind the scenes, technology is making GPS tracking of vehicles obsolete.  Automated License Plate Recognition (or ALPR or ANPR - Automated Number Plate Recognition).  It is sweeping the law enforcement world by storm.   In the United States, many police departments have outfitted patrol cars with ALPR systems, mostly funded by anti-terrorism grants.  So what does it do?  Well as the name implies, it automatically captures, records and checks license plates against a database and it can do so in huge numbers and with no intervention by police.  When the ALPR system finds a plate that is associated with a stolen vehicle or an outstanding warrant, the system alerts the officer and provides information on the vehicle and warrant.

On the surface, this seems like a great technology.  Police cars can rove the streets/parking lots and with little effort uncover any criminals who were stupid enough to drive around.  But like most technology, it will have unintended consequences.  The biggest one is that as ALPR becomes more popular, it will become easier and easier to track any particular individual's movement.   As the plate information is publicly visible on public streets, it's virtually immune from any 4th amendment challenge.  More cities are also installing ALPR systems at intersections in addition to patrol cars.  So the net effect will be that police will have the ability to determine not only where you and your car are at any given time, it will also (through the use of historical databases) allow them to see what any particular person's driving patterns are.    Effectively, this will make GPS tracking of vehicles unnecessary, at least in medium to large cities.

And as all of the technology that makes ALPR work is already in the public domain, it won't be long before the private sector makes use of it as well.  It's not hard to imagine that personal ALPR systems might be available in the future, allowing users to monitor patters of drivers though group-sourced traffic applications like Waze.

Imagine if a private company were able to capture license plate information along with travel patterns (where you live, work, drive). As of now, the government controls DMV information and most states make it very hard to get.  These private companies could offer this to you as well and as it's publicly visible information, it would be difficult to stop.  It would be a stalker's dream.

Government Now Says Fluoride 'Maybe Not So Good For You'

It's only a start, but the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is now saying that the current minimum recommended fluoride levels for drinking water should now be the maximum allowed. Wow. That's quite a turn around.

HHS say it's due to the increase in fluorosis, but the Peon Pulpit suspects it's because it's always been a carcinogen and the people who've been feeding it to you for years are trying to quietly back away from it ("...nothing to see here people, nothing to see").

Those anti-fluoride nuts are looking less crazy aren't they?

D.C. Ends Vehicle Inspections - But Is The Joke On You?

D.C. has announced that starting October 1, 2009, they will no longer require vehicle owners to get an annual inspection. This was announced as a budget reduction , allegedly saving the district some $400,000 per year.

Of course, the paranoid in me immediately questions how the People's Republic of D.C. could ever give up this control and revenue stream. Why wouldn't they just increase the inspection sticker price? Seems a bit out of place, doesn't it?? Unless....

Unless it gives them more control. Is it possible, that after October 1, 2009, a D.C. Police officer can pull you over for no obvious violation but instead do it under the cloak of a 'roadside inspection'? Am I really that paranoid? Yes.

Before you judge, consider that this surprise inspection cancellation announcement comes just 65 days after D.C.'s plan of setting up roadside checkpoints in certain high crime neighborhoods was ruled unconstitutional by a federal court. So D.C. can no longer roadblock whole neighborhoods, but perhaps they will now just set up vehicle inspection programs? Perhaps setting up shop in certain neighborhoods? Yes, that makes it all fit together nicely.

We'll see...

The Internet Finds A Conspiracy With Sarah Palin

So the latest tabloid story on the internet revolves around the seemingly odd time-line of the birth of Sarah Palin's most recent child. "Liberal" bloggers have really ramped up the story that Sarah Palin's most recent child was actually her grandchild, and that there's a massive conspiracy to cover up the teenage pregnancy of her own daughter. It's interesting to note that the allegations are not new. People were making them as early as March of 2008.

There are some unusual circumstances. True or not, we need to remember that it was the Daily Kos that pushed the story. It's a big gamble for them. If it's true, they'll look like the Drudge of 2008. If they're wrong, they'll be branded as the site that dragged a candidate's children into the fray (including an infant child with a serious health condition), which will make them look really, really sleazy.

Was Pseudoephedrine Maligned To Make A Corporation Rich?

Jeffrey A. Tucker at the Ludwig von Mises Institute has a fascinating short post about what may be the real reason Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) was moved behind the pharmacy counter as part of the Patriot Act.

Protectionism and My Stuffy Nose