Hamilton police roll out automatic licence plate readers and in-car cameras

Hamilton Police Service (HPS)have started using automatic licence plate readers and in-car cameras in vehicles.

HPS said it will help with investigations related to wanted or missing people, auto theft and unattached plates.

Police noted officers are seeing a "large number" of people with improperly registered plates.

"In addition, there are benefits that will come with having an objective recording of an interaction between an officer and member of the public," HPS said in a media release.

HPS has been exploring the use of a plate reader and in-car cameras since at least last year.

Police saythe service used money from a provincial grant to introduce the technology.

How does the technology work?

The HPS website saysthe technology looks liketwo or three cameras mounted on top of a specialized police cruiser.

One or two cameras point forward, and one points backwards, so that an officer can scan cars in multiple directions.

"This makes it more difficult for suspended drivers, drivers of stolen cars, and other vehicles with plates in poor standing to drive undetected, reads the HPS website.

"Under optimal conditions, the [licence plate reader]is capable of scanning thousands of license plates per hour."

The scanner detects if a licence plate is on the province's list of plates in poor standing.

Poor standing ranges fromdrivers with suspended licences, plates linked to stolen or missing vehicles, suspended plates, plates with expired tags and plates associated with people on Canada-wide warrants or who are reported missing.

If the plate is on the list, police stopthe car to check.

'These cannot become weapons of the police'

Wade Poziomka, a human rights lawyer and partner of Ross & McBride LLP, previously said he would have concerns if HPS used the tool for surveillance.

"These cannot become weapons of the police," Poziomka said. "They have to be guided by an open and transparent policy that says when they will be recording and when they won't be.

Police note any information related to plates that aren't on the list is deleted.

HPS also said the scanner doesn't record video or analyze pictures, so it can't be used to detect speeding or red light violations.

"The cameras are angled downwardto capture license plates only, not the driver or any passengersin the vehicle," reads the website.

HPS says in a privacy statementthe service retainsvehicle and plate images"for a period of timeto perform searches when investigating reported crimes."

It adds the data isn't sold to third parties and is only used for police purposes.

HPS alsonotes the scanner can't detect facial images, people, gender, or race. It also can't be used for harassment, intimidation or on a protected class.

The privacy statement says the licence plate reader is made byAxon Enterprise.

Axonisa U.S.-based company formerly known as Taser International. It develops technology for police and public safety including Tasers, body cameras and more.

Last summer, it faced backlash for announcing thedevelopment of a drone equipped with a Taser to combat school shootings. The company halted the plans days after the announcement.

Police expect to fully implement the plate readers and cameras by September.

At that time, there will be 78 patrol vehicles in the city with the technology.