Houston License Plate Monitors-Of Course They'll Be Used For Repressive Purposes

The Houston Chronicle reports Houston has more than 3800 license plate cameras. That is more than any other city in the country. 

From the Chronicle: 

"As Houston public safety leaders continue to decry what they say are staffing shortages, the police department has come to rely on a license plate scanning technology more than any other city in the country, the acting chief said at a recent hearing....Houston now leads the nation with more than 3,800 license plate reading cameras......The cameras track license plates on vehicles and notify law enforcement of any past links to crimes. While law enforcement experts in Houston and elsewhere have praised the technology for helping investigators solve crimes faster and more efficiently, it doesn't come without controversy, as some civil rights groups have voiced concern about how the technology stores data and intrudes on peoples' privacy....Savannah Kumar, attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, previously told the Houston Chronicle that the license plate reading cameras raise privacy concerns. Kumar urges people to be cautious with the implementation or expansion of plate reading systems and to consider how long the data is retained and where it’s shared by law enforcement."

I'm old enough to recall when Houston voters got rid of red light cameras. That was in 2010. There was all sorts of talk about "privacy" and how we could all be tracked.  It was horse hockey. People just wanted to run red lights. Just go out on Houston streets and you'll see a lot of  people running red lights.

A man in Baytown, Texas  has filed a complaint with the Texas Department of Public Safety over potentially invasive uses of the cameras in that city. I doubt DPS will be on board with that, but I appreciate the gentleman's efforts. A Baytown city councilmember is also opposed to the cameras for privacy reasons according to a report of Houston Fox 26.    

There is no way that these cameras would not be used by law enforcement and politicians in an authoritarian or repressive situation in Texas and/or the nation. They'll keep going up and going up in Houston and elsewhere and we'll be told it is for public safety. Of course the one public safety issue it won't address, is the actual law-breaking recorded by the cameras of red light running and aggressive driving.  

Privacy is more and more difficult to obtain in this society. Much of it of course we've willingly given away by refusing to demand that our leaders take steps to protect privacy.

The structure of authoritarianism is up and running & ready to go.       

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