LOUISIANA DISTRICT ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
OFFICERS
E . PETE ADAM S
HILLAR C. MOORE Ill
PRESIDENT
SB 250- Protecting the Public
While Protecting Privacy
SB 250 creates a program th at offers protection for th e publi c by
id ent ifyi ng vehicl es o peratin g with o ut in surance and vehi cles invo lved in
se ri o us crim es. Th e use of an Autom at ed License Pl ate Recog nition
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Syste m, (also ca ll ed ALPR" or simply, LPR"), und er this program
enabl es saf e, effective enforcem ent of th e law without threat enin g
individu al privacy inte rest s.
VAN H . KYZAR
FIRST V ICE PRESIDENT
CHRISTOPHER BO WMAN
SECOND VICE PRESIDENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MICHA EL C . CASSIDY
JOSEPH L . WAl TZ , JR .
S . ANDREW SHEALY
H. TODD NESO M
BRADLEY R . BURGET
J . REED WALTERS
CHARLES J . BALL AY
RICKY BABIN
CHARLES A . RIDDLE Ill
JOH N F . DEROSIER
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
DALE
R . LEE
PRESIDENT
ASSISTANT DISTRICT
ATTORNEYS SECTION
MA RK PITRE
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
INVESTIGAT ORS SECT ION
PAUL D . CONNICK , JR.
NOAA STATE DIRECTOR
Public and privat e LPR syst em s are alrea dy in wid e use in Louisiana and ac ross t he
nation and t he w o rld. Even so, any expansion of t echnology ri ghtfully raises co nce rn s
about invasio ns of privacy. Th erefore, in developing thi s program, w e have add ed
fea tures specifi ca lly des igned to protect th e privacy concern s of law -a bid ing citizens.
Here is how th e program operates:
•
Th e program creat ed by SB 250 ca ptures images of license plat es of vehicles operating
on public roads and match es them against th e list of non-compliant mot or vehicles to
identify offenders. The syst em also checks for Amber alerts and felony crimin al alerts.
•
Only the license plate and the rear of the vehicle will be captured by photograph. The
driver of the vehicle is not photographed nor identified.
•
The own er of the vehicle is also not id entified until and unless the license plat e check
identifies a non-compliant vehicle or a vehicle associat ed with felonious activity.
•
Th ere are three distin ct typ es of data that will be accessed und er thi s syste m: (1)
license pl at e im ages that do not mat ch with a list of non-co mpli ant vehicl es; (2)
license pl at e im ages that mat ch a list of vehicles involvin g crimin al condu ct [i. e., If a
vehicl e is on a Hot List and assum ed stolen, driven by a w anted crimin al or similar,
an APB, (All Points Bulletin), or BOLO, (Be on Loo k Out), or simil ar ca n be issued with
1645 NICHOLSON DRIVE/BATON ROUGE, LA 70802-8143/TEL (225) 343-0171 /FAX (225) 387-0237 /WWW.LDAA.ORG
the intent of stopping the vehicle to then investigate]; and {3) license plate images
that match a list of non-compliant vehicles.
•
When a vehicle associated with a serious crime is identified, that data is forwarded to
law enforcement, but is not maintained by this system.
•
All data not retained as evidence in a compulsory insurance or a felony case is required
to be purged after 60 days (a floor amendment will reduce this to 30 days).
•
Even after the vehicle is identified as non-compliant, a potential citation must pass four
separate checks to ensure accuracy.
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Once non-compliance is confirmed, law enforcement will issue a probable cause affidavit
and the District Attorney's Office will screen the matter for prosecution, diversion, or
dismissal.
•
This system cannot be used for red light or traffic enforcement.
•
This system cannot track the location of individuals.
e
The Sheriff and District Attorneys involved in this program would control the use of
all data gathered under this program.
•
All system data is maintained in NLETS, a legal extension of Louisiana Law Enforcement
and in a facility that has never, in over 45 years, been compromised.
Conclusion: The Statewide Motor Vehicle Theft and Uninsured Motorist Identification
Program provides the least intrusive and most effective way to enforce our criminal
and compliance laws without compromising the privacy concerns of louisiana citizens.
Sincerely,
E. Pete Adams
LDAA Executive Director
EPA:rbj