License Plate Readers: A Quick Look

Last night, Sheriff Bob Norris of Kootenai County had a chat with the locals about those license plate readers you see around town. You know, the ones that snap pics of your vehicle's license plate? Well, Norris wants everyone to know that these gadgets don’t invade your privacy. In fact, they only check if your car is stolen or if the driver is wanted by the cops. They don’t even take photos of who's inside the car! The sheriff's office keeps the data for a year and makes sure only the right people can access it. If someone tries to misuse the info, it’s a serious crime. Norris himself hasn’t seen any misuse during his time in office. And the county doesn’t sell this data to anyone without their say-so, as Commissioner Bruce Mattare pointed out. Former Post Falls Police Chief Scot Haug shared that these readers have been in use since 2006. They started out at the state line and helped solve lots of crimes. Over the years, there haven’t been any incidents of misuse. This is thanks to strict policies among local law enforcement. Prosecuting Attorney Stan Mortensen echoed this, saying he hasn’t heard of any misuse cases. If something were to happen, it would be investigated and prosecuted just like any other crime. Norris wants residents to understand that this data isn’t as valuable as some other personal info, like cellphone data. So, no one’s really after it to misuse.