ANPR database error leads to wrongful arrest

In 2018, Brian Hofer, the chair of Oakland's Privacy Advisory Commission, filed suit after police wrongfully stopped him at gunpoint because their automated license plate recognition system, supplied by Vigilant Solutions, indicated that the rental car he was driving had been stolen. The car had in fact been stolen some months earlier, but been recovered. Despite such errors, police claim that the technology has helped reduce crime, identify stolen vehicles, and identify and arrest suspects. However, the systems have not been publicly audited, the costs are substantial, and their effectiveness is uncertain.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/privacy-advocate-detained-at-gunpoint-when-licence-plate-readers-mistakenly-marked-his-car-stolen

Writer: Lisa Fernandez

Publication: KTVU (Fox)

Publication date: 2019-02-15