ARLINGTON, Va. — Although a majority of respondents to a new national survey opposed police use of automated license plate readers, 6 in 10 favored keeping existing programs rather than eliminating them.
The National Policing Institute released the findings Sept. 9 after surveying 1,435 U.S. adults about how law enforcement agencies use and oversee ALPR systems. NPI called it the first independent national survey to examine public attitudes toward specific uses of the technology and the safeguards that could increase support.
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More than 54% opposed ALPR use in their communities, compared with 34.6% who supported it. Yet when asked what agencies should do with programs already in place, only one-third wanted them ended.
Instead, 44.8% said agencies should continue using ALPRs with new restrictions. Another 15.6% favored keeping the programs as they are.
“The findings should reframe how agencies acquire, deploy, and oversee the technology, including the need for strong checks and balances and clear accountability,” NPI President Jim Burch said.
How the cameras are used made a significant difference.
More than 88% considered using ALPRs to find missing or abducted children acceptable. Support also exceeded 80% for investigating violent crimes and recovering stolen vehicles. At the other end of the survey, fewer than 18% supported using the technology to monitor protests or political gatherings.
The findings also showed that oversight could influence public acceptance. Independent external audits were the most commonly selected safeguard, and nearly 58% of respondents said adopting their preferred safeguards would increase their support for ALPRs.
The full report examines how views differ by age, race, political affiliation and perceptions of local law enforcement. It also explores data-retention preferences, concerns about information sharing and how ALPRs compare with other police technologies.
The survey used an opt-in online sample weighted to U.S. Census Bureau figures for age, sex and race or ethnicity. Because participants were not selected through a random probability sample, the report does not include a conventional margin of error.
Other key findings
- 53% of respondents said ALPR data not connected to a crime should not be kept for more than 30 days, and 20% of those respondents would delete it within 24 hours. A separate 21% of all respondents said the data should not be collected at all.
- Opposition persists even among people who rate their own local police highly: 31.6% of respondents who rated their department in the top third on fairness and respect still opposed ALPR use, though opposition in this group is lower than among respondents who rated their department less highly.
- Age was the strongest demographic divide measured, with opposition falling from 67.6% among respondents aged 25 to 34 to 40.6% among those 65 and older.
- Concern that ALPR data could reach or be accessed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) produced the widest political gap of any measure in the survey, splitting very liberal and conservative respondents by 71.6 percentage points.
Download the complete survey findings here.
