By Margaret Reist
Lincoln Journal Star, Neb.
LANCASTER COUNTY, Neb. — Before long, six cameras that record motorists’ license plate numbers will be mounted on digital overhead signs on Interstate 80 somewhere in Lancaster County, the latest crime-fighting tool of the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.
The so-called automated license plate readers — an increasingly common tool used by law enforcement agencies to help find suspects — are controversial because of privacy concerns.
Although law enforcement officers say they’re a game-changer, the ACLU Nebraska has opposed them at the state level as well as locally.
The cameras capture a still image of all license plate numbers that pass near the device and are used by law enforcement officers, who flag vehicles connected to various crimes including Amber alerts, human trafficking and violent crimes.
Lancaster County has two cameras mounted on cruisers and one mounted on a Lincoln Police Department cruiser used by an officer on a criminal interdiction task force, which is overseen by the sheriff’s office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
LPD spokeswoman Erika Thomas said other than the officer on the interdiction task force, the department no longer uses such devices.
Douglas and Seward counties and the Bellevue Police Department are among Nebraska agencies that use them. But last year, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office pulled a proposed agreement with the City of Omaha to put the cameras on Omaha streets because there wasn’t sufficient support from the council.
Lancaster County Board Chairman Christa Yoakum said she had concerns about the cameras, though the statutory limitations ultimately convinced the board, which unanimously approved extending a contract with Vigilant Solutions for another year that allowed the sheriff’s office to buy the new cameras.
Since 2018, Nebraska has had a law that governs the use of such devices, including how long law enforcement can retain images captured by the plate readers. The law has caused confusion about what data can be used in court proceedings and a legislative bill introduced this year attempted to clarify that.
The bill, which didn’t make it out of committee, also would have required documented reasons for the search to be recorded in a digital log and audited annually, made intentional violations of the act a felony and limited who can operate such cameras to law enforcement agencies.
Under the existing law, license plates are stored by a third-party contractor for six months, but police can flag images of specific plates as investigatory so they won’t be erased.
ACLU Nebraska opposed changes to the original bill, which it helped draft.
“This is mass surveillance operated by law enforcement with the tech companies,” the ACLU’s Spike Eickholt told a legislative committee.
Jane Seu, an attorney with ACLU Nebraska, said concerns about privacy and a lack of transparency remain.
“There’s a question of where the information is being harvested and if it’s with a third party, what they’re doing with it,” she said. “Without transparency or safeguards, I think there’s big risks.”
Lancaster County Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Peschong said the six cameras will be placed in two locations, with three cameras (one per lane) at each location.
The department just got the cameras but are still going through a permitting process with the state before they can install them.
The department is working with the State Patrol, which is working to get additional cameras to put along the interstate farther west, he said.
Peschong said the cameras have been very useful — helping catch six homicide suspects over the past four years. An advantage to having fixed cameras is that they aren’t dependent on the deputy with the camera on his cruiser being on duty to capture images.
He said there are guidelines in place to ensure agencies use the cameras appropriately, and law enforcement agencies can only flag vehicles connected to crimes.
Last year, the license plate readers helped locate a teenager from Houston who was charged with the death of his mother, who was found strangled to death in the trunk of his car when he was stopped by patrol officers near Grand Island, Peschong said.
“I think we’re going to be able to rescue more children and human trafficking victims that we wouldn’t normally know about,” he said.
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