THIS is the 50th episode of Light ‘Em Up!
We are excited and humbled to deliver this educational and empowering episode to you! Thanks to YOU, we’re now being downloaded in 95 countries!
With this historic episode we investigate and ask: Is “Big Brother” & your police department watching you? Are your movements being tracked?
Whether you like it or not, your driving habits are being observed and specific identifiable information that is only connected to you is being stored in huge databases that the police own and oversee.
Our mission and goals are always to educate and empower you with what you need to know in order to protect yourself from any unconstitutional intrusions into your person, papers and effects as well as your personal privacy. It may not always be what you want to hear but it always is what you need to hear. “Justice comes to those that fight … not those that cry!”
You may not know that you may be being tracked by Automatic License Plate Reading Cameras (ALPRs). Today, data is a gold mine.
ALPRs use a combination of cameras and computer software to indiscriminately scan the license plates of every passing car. They log the time and date of each scan, the GPS coordinates, and pictures of the car. Some can snap pictures of a vehicle’s occupants and create unique vehicle IDs. The devices send the data to software which can compare each plate against a designated “hot list.” Such lists can include stolen cars and cars associated with AMBER Alerts for abducted children.
Since the earliest license plate reader technology debuted in the late 1970s, it has evolved to become one of the most essential and widely used tools law enforcement agencies have in their arsenal. Today’s powerful ALPR systems and touted as being extremely useful not only for enforcing traffic laws — but also as an effective crime fighting and investigative tool that saves precious hours during a critical incident or an investigation.
But trust me when I tell you that the technology is not without flaws. If a plate is misread it can result in you being pulled over at gunpoint.
Black Americans are 3.23 times more likely than white Americans to be killed by police, according to a study by researchers at Harvard.
In the United States, there is a presumption of innocence and a 4th Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. How this technology is being applied? Is everyone a suspect? Is that what our Founding Fathers envisioned?
We investigate and ask: Has the dragnet been flung too far? Too wide? As ALPRs become more common, the number of erroneous readings will increase. Placing too much faith in an automated system can have terrible consequences.
Does the capture and storage of this specific identifiable information constitute an unlawful search and seizure upon you? We want to hear what you feel about this. Do you feel as if you are being “watched”?
As always, Light ‘Em Up and our team of researchers are here to speak truth to power.
Tune in and hear our shocking case stories. Tune in and be empowered. The people have a right to know, and we’re here to shout the truth from the mountain tops. Forewarned is forearmed!
We’d like to thank our friends at Feedspot, as recently we were honored by being ranked #6 in their most recent poll out of the 40 Best Criminal Justice Podcasts. Visit their blog at www.Feedspot.com or simply follow this link: Best 40 Criminal Justice Podcasts You Follow in 2022 (feedspot.com).
And for all your news and current affairs check out our friends at Newsly by visiting https://newsly.me. Use the promo code L1GHTEMUP to launch your 10% savings.
We bring the classroom to you! We are here for you and because of you!
Executive Producer Phil Rizzo