Surveillance Cameras To Scan License Plates

[Red Arrow]

You know how in that CSI show, they can take really grainy surveillance camera and enhance it to some super sharp detail? Well, they made all that up, and I am pretty sure there is nothing that will be able to scan that tiny barcode from a distance of over 8 ft; well, not in Oklahoma anyway.

I'm sure the technology is available but I agree with the Oklahoma assessment.  For now, a sharpie (actually a bluntie) it is.

[Hoss]

You know how in that CSI show, they can take really grainy surveillance camera and enhance it to some super sharp detail? Well, they made all that up, and I am pretty sure there is nothing that will be able to scan that tiny barcode from a distance of over 8 ft; well, not in Oklahoma anyway.

It's not just that; at the angle you'd have to get the barcode from, even if you didn't have a tag frame, would rely on the camera being mounted nearly at ground level with the bevel of the tag around the margin being so severe.

[patric]

It's not just that; at the angle you'd have to get the barcode from, even if you didn't have a tag frame, would rely on the camera being mounted nearly at ground level with the bevel of the tag around the margin being so severe.

And yet the Department of Public Safety is installing 200 cameras (for starters) specifically to scan the new tags.
My guess is the barcodes are for hand-held equipment, while the highway scanners read the numbers on the tag.
Either way, Im a bit concerned that the agency that oversees an impeccable outfit like the OHP might not be completely upfront as to the breadth and purpose of the huge surveillance database they intend to amass.

[BKDotCom]

OCR with tags is quite common...

that bar code probably just tells what inmate "stamped" it.. 

not sure about OK, but in many states squad car cameras routinely scan any tags that pass in front of the camera...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_number_plate_recognition

[sgrizzle]

What I don't get is why do we need 200 cameras to see what license plates are on the roads.. do we not issue them?

[patric]

What I don't get is why do we need 200 cameras to see what license plates are on the roads.. do we not issue them?

Bingo.
From BkDotCom's link:
"Automatic Number Plate Recognition is a mass surveillance method that uses optical character recognition on images to read the license plates on vehicles."

An example of how it's used:
"The UK has an extensive automatic number plate recognition CCTV network. Effectively, the police and Security services track all car movements around the country and are able to track any car in close to real time. Vehicle movements are stored for 5 years in the National ANPR Data Centre to be analyzed for intelligence and to be used as evidence.
In 1997 a system of one hundred ANPR cameras, codenamed GLUTTON, was installed to feed into the automated British Military Intelligence Systems in Northern Ireland."

And lastly:
"There are numerous other electronic toll collection networks which use this combination of Radio Frequency identification and ANPR. These include:
    * Pike Pass in Oklahoma."


My take is that DPS is counting on us to surrender some of our freedoms for the illusion of safety, in this case, letting them catalog our daily vehicle usage in exchange for the promise of being safe from uninsured motorists.

[Red Arrow]

Ian Flemming gave James Bond rotating license plates a long time ago.  (Either I.F. or the movie industry.)

[sgrizzle]

Bingo.
From BkDotCom's link:
"Automatic Number Plate Recognition is a mass surveillance method that uses optical character recognition on images to read the license plates on vehicles."

An example of how it's used:
"The UK has an extensive automatic number plate recognition CCTV network. Effectively, the police and Security services track all car movements around the country and are able to track any car in close to real time. Vehicle movements are stored for 5 years in the National ANPR Data Centre to be analyzed for intelligence and to be used as evidence.
In 1997 a system of one hundred ANPR cameras, codenamed GLUTTON, was installed to feed into the automated British Military Intelligence Systems in Northern Ireland."

And lastly:
"There are numerous other electronic toll collection networks which use this combination of Radio Frequency identification and ANPR. These include:
    * Pike Pass in Oklahoma."


My take is that DPS is counting on us to surrender some of our freedoms for the illusion of safety, in this case, letting them catalog our daily vehicle usage in exchange for the promise of being safe from uninsured motorists.

That didn't address my comment. It's like saying we need to by high tech cameras to read a book we wrote to see what it says. We know what plates are issued, renewed, etc. Why put out a camera to see what license plates are in use when we issue them? We already know!

[Conan71]

Ian Flemming gave James Bond rotating license plates a long time ago.  (Either I.F. or the movie industry.)

Did they put bar codes on each side? 

[TheArtist]

That didn't address my comment. It's like saying we need to by high tech cameras to read a book we wrote to see what it says. We know what plates are issued, renewed, etc. Why put out a camera to see what license plates are in use when we issue them? We already know!

Its probably not just about what license plates are in use but, where the vehicle is and when it was where it was (might be helpful in an Amber Alert situation for instance), is this license legal, does this vehicle have insurance, etc.

[Red Arrow]

Did they put bar codes on each side? 

Yep, a small picture of a vodka martini.

[patric]

"I would gladly give up my privacy for national security—that's why I don't mind that Google street view that caught me fighting a raccoon over a Tasty Kake wrapper."

[patric]

Forget catching "uninsured motorists", unpaid tickets and data mining is where the cash is at.
Competing manufacturers like Motorola, CitySync, ELSAG, ADT and PIPS will even loan cities the expensive equipment for a cut of the revenue.

You can even create your own database to watch, like "cars driven by Tulsa World employees" or "cars that park at family planning clinics".  The sky's the limit.

[Red Arrow]

Forget catching "uninsured motorists", unpaid tickets and data mining is where the cash is at.
Competing manufacturers like Motorola, CitySync, ELSAG, ADT and PIPS will even loan cities the expensive equipment for a cut of the revenue.

You can even create your own database to watch, like "cars driven by Tulsa World employees" or "cars that park at family planning clinics".  The sky's the limit.

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.   

[patric]

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.   

What adds so much to the cloak-and-dagger is that approval for DPS to begin was done by Governors Executive Order during the Christmas break. 
The legislature exempted the records from the Open Records Act, so theres no accountability or public paper trail.

What happened to all that government transparency?