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Joined: 05 Nov 2003
Posts: 814
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 1:17 pm Post Subject: Police trial Number Plate Identification cameras in NZ
More toys for the boys in blue. Following Britain's lead, the surveillance society in New Zealand marches on with impunity. Didn't realise your warrant expired a couple of days ago? Don't worry that instant fine you receive in the mail will make sure you don't forget next time... :?
Stuff article wrote:
Spy cam targets vehicle thieves
Police are testing innovative cameras that can read 50 licence plates a minute in a crackdown on the 20,000 car thefts each year.
The cameras, already used in Britain to target terrorists, are a new weapon against drivers of stolen cars, who cause more crashes and are more likely to be drunk or speeding.
Police say the technology will help them quickly track stolen cars and vehicles used in crimes, but civil libertarians are worried that it could be abused.
About 20,000 vehicles were reported stolen in New Zealand in 2005. Only one-fifth of the offences were resolved.
Transit New Zealand has trialled the technology using fixed cameras at two Auckland motorway sites. More trials are expected to be held in Wellington and Christchurch.
The cameras, which cost tens of thousands of dollars each, will be capable of reading 50 number plates a minute and can feed the information to police databases.
I just posted an article to this forum on a government proposal to track everyone on a national database ('Scheme to spot crims at birth'). In many of these cases, it's interesting that whoever is advocating the invasive technology always seems to deny that it's Big Brother technology...
"Former police commissioner Rob Robinson was a long-time advocate of the technology, telling The Dominion Post last year that it was a "hugely powerful" crime-fighting tool and "not Big Brother stuff"."
I'm sure there are all sorts of schemes the Police could come up with that would be 'hugely powerful crime-fighting tools'... Surveillance cameras and microphones in people's homes - now that would be useful (and hugely powerful as a crime fighting tool too...)
I would really like to know what the likes of Rob Robinson would regard as Big Brother stuff - were would they draw the line I wonder?
