Missouri – Missouri is poised to spend over a quarter of a million dollars in advanced surveillance technologies in an attempt to strengthen law enforcement capacity among a shortfall of state troopers. The administration of Governor Mike Parson has revealed the $243,750 budget for the installation of twenty-one new license plate scanners all over the state.
This project fits an increasing trend in Missouri where technology is used in crime-fighting operations, especially in rural areas. The most recent funding supports a 2023 initiative where 43 license plate scanners will be installed in 11 mid-Missouri counties. These tools, provided by Atlanta-based Flock Safety, seek to offset the continuous difficulties in staffing new police even with recent pay hikes of more than 20%.
Mike O’Connell, a spokesman for the Missouri Department of Public Safety, said that using license plate scanners is absolutely essential at a time when staff members are limited.
The readers, which are capable of scanning license plates and matching them with vehicles listed on “hot lists” for suspected criminal involvement, have already shown their true value. They have proven quite helpful in finding missing young people, catching those engaged in multi-state retail crime organizations, and apprehending suspects in murder cases and jail breaks. Every 15 minutes, these lists are painstakingly updated to guarantee accurate and fast enforcement actions.
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Still, the use of such monitoring tools has not been without controversy. Advocates of civil rights have expressed worries about possible overreach since the extensive deployment of license plate readers could result in unnecessary monitoring of common people. State officials contend that despite these issues, the technology is just utilized to monitor vehicles linked to criminal activity.
Citing privacy issues, Senator Mike Cierpiot of Lee’s Summit presented a measure to limit the purchase and usage of license plate scanners, therefore sparking a debate at the state senate early this year.
“I think most people are a little bit reluctant to be tracked all the time. It’s just one of these things with government and technology, we’re being watched more and more and more,” Cierpiot told Missourinet.
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Localities around Missouri, including St. Charles County, are also implementing similar technology as the state keeps extending its network of license plate readers. A major step in a larger regional initiative to properly use surveillance technology, the county put 40 additional units along major thoroughfares to help in criminal investigations last year.
