San Francisco suburb mulls camera to scan every license plate on clarkhoward.com

Would you be in favor of police using technology to automatically scan license plates whenever a car enters or leaves a town?

That's the situation the residents of a relatively isolated San Francisco suburb called Tiburon could be facing. Authorities want to install cameras to scan each tag and automatically alert them if a match is found with an outstanding warrant.

What a change from the old days when an officer had to radio a dispatcher with a tag number to run through a database!

Police say the technology should make identifying burglary suspects much easier. "We'll look for a plate that came and went," the town's police chief tells The San Francisco Chronicle. "That's going to give us a very short list to work on."

What do you think? Be sure to vote in our poll and let us know!

What others are saying

Tiburon, California Use to burn down every year!
We use to go there several times a year. They were kind of like the West Coasts version of Marths's Vinyard in Maine.

Very high end shopping, restaurants, houses and community.

It use to catch on fire every year too, and it was hard to get the firetrucks in because it is an odd island.
By Cautious Cat @ 07/28/09 06:12:42 PMreport abuse
where will it end?
where do you draw the line?
By anonymous @ 07/28/09 04:00:44 PMreport abuse
let them scan
License plates and automobiles are already in the "public domain" when the car is driven on public streets. Let's make it easier for the police to take care of scofflaws.
By AlphaCharlie @ 07/28/09 02:42:00 AMreport abuse
Tiburon cameras
I am all for using technology to catch people who break the law. Maybe hard pressed towns can track down people who owe fines easily.
By PMX @ 07/27/09 11:23:30 PMreport abuse
more cameras
add this to the list of national security snafus and were really starting to look like prisoners in the land of the free. if your scared pray for strength. no prob w/ police reading tags.
By keep liberty free @ 07/27/09 07:17:22 PMreport abuse
Sounds Great to Me
Finally. Its about time. Hopefully we can use this on terrorists and evil-doers too!
By Socialist Sam @ 07/27/09 01:20:13 PMreport abuse
Privacy
You have no right to privacy while driving on public roads. This may creep me out, but I can't think of a valid reason to oppose it. My car has windows that cannot be tinted too dark to see through. I have an easily identifiable mark called a license plate that anyone can view. This won't have any impact on me that I can see.

Even the driving is not a right, but a priviledge.
By drew @ 07/27/09 11:43:24 AMreport abuse
Community Rights
This is another issue that should be determined at the local level. If Tiburon wants it - fine, if your community doesn't - fine. What this may or may not lead to is the community's responsibility. We are not a country where 'one size fits all' - Thank God.
By J.J. @ 07/27/09 10:50:04 AMreport abuse
Overwhelm?
Jere, I don't understand the logic of your comment. How will this system overwhelm the Tiberon police? Whoever has an outstanding warrant should just avoid Tiberon.
By z @ 07/27/09 10:21:28 AMreport abuse
Scanning license plates
It's not an illegal search. However, until apprehension techniques improve the "hits" generated will overwhelm a law enforcement agency.
By Jere Joiner @ 07/27/09 10:07:07 AMreport abuse
License Plate Camera's
You don't have an expectation of privacy when you are in the public view. This is not an " illegal" Search
By AWAC @ 07/27/09 09:40:18 AMreport abuse
Cameras at Mall
Another invasion of privacy from Big Brother. Where does it end?
By Scott Sexton @ 07/27/09 09:14:03 AMreport abuse
One step forward to a totalitarian system
This is opening yet another pandor's box that is eroding our privacy and rights. The percentage of burglaries in San Francisco is to too small to justify yet another erosion of our privacy.Of course well all know that but fail to do anything about it.
By Easylivingsherpa.com @ 07/26/09 09:57:09 PMreport abuse
Legal Precedent
If the camera is installed it will be challenged as illegal search. If it is held up as constitutional it paves the way for the use of face recognition software on the public. If one is legal, so is the other.
By Neil @ 07/25/09 11:20:17 AMreport abuse
License Plate
Whats the big deal, the police can run license tags all day long on the lap tops they have in the Police cars, and they do, while driving down the street and the person doesn't even know it.
By Guy @ 07/25/09 01:11:08 AMreport abuse

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Jul 24, 2009 -- San Francisco suburb mulls camera to scan every license plate

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