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Feds may cut funds for plate readers

New Jersey uses devices to help track car thieves

BY: William Westhoven
Morristown Daily Record
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... New Jersey's top law enforcement officials are touting the results of an audit they say illustrates the value of automated license plate readers, the high-tech sensors hat can scan thousands of passing plates and quickly find a specific vehicle.
..... In a review of more than 500 New Jersey departments, now employing the devices, the state found ALPRs used in a variety of cases, not just for catching criminals. The audit of ALPR used last year [2024] found only two reported violations of guidelines, allaying fears raised by privacy advocates, the July [2025] report said.
.... Still, in a July 28 [2025] statement announcing the results, state Attorney Vernal Matthew Platkin warned that "the U.S. Department of Justice recently notified the sate that it would be clawing back critical public safety funds, including more than $1 million the sate was planning to sue to install additional automated license plate readers in areas that report higher bias incidents."
..... "ALPRs not only help law enforcement track stolen vehicles, but they are a critical tool in driving down violent crimes and hate crimes because we know that too often auto theft and violate crimes are linked," Platkin said. The Trump administration proposal would allow "critical tools to be taken away from our law enforcement officers by reckless federal fining cuts."
..... The Justice Department did not respond to a message asking about the purported cuts.
..... New Jersey police began adopting the scanners in more significant numbers this decade as towns faced a spike in automobile thefts.
..... In 2023, Governed Phil Murphy promised to spend $10 million to expand the use of the technology.
..... ALPRs have also spread beyond their use against car thieves and are also employed in other aspects of police work, the sate said. That includes tracking down missing persons and parking enforcement in towns such as Denville, in Morris County, which has switched from chalking tires to using an ALPR-equipped vehicle that can cite scofflaws simply by driving around town.
..... "ALPR is an essential asset in modern policing, providing real-time intelligence that significantly enhances our ability to combat crime," New Jersey State Police Superintendent Colonial Patrick Callahan said in the attorney general's statement. "When used responsibly and in accordance with guidelines, this technology helps us protect our communities more effectively while safeguarding individual privacy."
..... Platkin and Callahan says the audit verified both the accuracy of the devices and their responsible deployment in New Jersey so far. Only tow significant violations of their permitted use were identified by the 523 New Jersey law enforcement agencies required to submit certification to the government's ALPR coordinator, State Police Lieutenant Adam Polhemus, the audit found.
..... both of the violations were related to authorized users not taking mandatory training provided by the New Jersey Statewide Networked ALPR Program, known as NJ SNAP. corrective steps were taken in both cases, Platkin said.|
..... The audit found no reports of data misuse or data privacy violations, the Attorney Gen real's Office said.
..... One citizen complaint was field last year [2024] by an individual charged in a robbery. The defendant alleged that the arresting agency's sue of ALPR technology in the investigation was improper. "As the criminal prosecution of the complainant remains open, additional detail cannot yet be provided," said the audit, which was reals ed on July 21. [2025]

Critics urge caution, research

..... Privacy advocates still urge caution about the increased use of technology wherever they drive. ALPR devices are mounted on police vehicles, road signs, utility poles, bridges and portable units that can be deployed almost anywhere.
..... The New Jersey chapter of the America civil Liberties Union did not respond to messages seeking comment on the audit. But the national ACLU on its website warns readers that the technology "is fast proliferating on American's streets."
..... "The information capture by the readers - including the license plate number and the date, time and location of every scan - is being collected and sometimes pooled into regional sharing systems," the ACLU says. "As a result, enormous databases of innocent motorists' location information are growing rapidly. this information is often retained for years, or even indefinitely with few or no restrictions to protect privacy rights."
..... Recent research by John Shjarback, an associated professor in the Department of Law and Justice Studies at Rowen University, questions the effectiveness of the technology. "There's a difference between efficiency and effectiveness," he noted in a study of ALPR use by the Atlantic City Police Department.
..... "There is no question that ALPRs are efficient" they generate more 'alerts' or 'hits' for stolen plates or vehicles, which does translate into arrest and automobile recoveries for such crimes being two to three times more likely during patrols when the technology is used," Shjarback wrote in the study, published in March. [2025]
..... "However, when it comes to effectiveness in terms of reductions in crime due to deterrence and/or incapacitation, there is mixed evidence in this regard from the limited number of evaluations that exist," he wrote. "Even less is known about their impact on solve/clearance rates."
..... He announced law enforcement eugenics "with a lot of expenses" to be selective in their funding of technologies such as ALPR when "there is such a limited bases of evaluation work so far. It has not kept pace with the technology's rapid diffusion."
..... Asked to review the New Jersey audit recently, Shjarback said: "I think there is a lot of room for expansion in using ALPRs for investigative purposes - that is, using the technology to build cases for prosecution."

About New Jersey's ALPR audit

..... The audit reviewed hundreds of thousands of ALPR activities in New Jersey submitted by local, count and state authorities from January 1 to December 31, 2024. to be certified, individual agencies are required to confirm these points each year:
* The agency has an ALOR policy in place.
* Only authorized users have accessed ALPR data.
* The date of each authorized user's last ALPR Directive training.
* That a random survey of ALPR accesses revealed no misuse.
* A description of any known significant violations and citizen complaints, and whether they have been forward to the county and state ALPR coordinators and the county prosecutor or the state's Division of criminal Justice.
* The agency is in compliance with the FBI's Criminal Justice Information systems requirements and is allowed to receive hot-lists.
..... County or state ALPR coordinators also may conduct an audit of a municipal agency's program at any time. For the latest audit, agencies form Gloucester and Monmouth counties were randomly selected for review, Platkin's office said. Both agencies were found to be in compliance.

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