Just a bit off topic. This does relate to license plate readers, and tracking. Specifically, to the Waze cop-tracking issue (link below) in which the fraidy-cat cops are scared of Waze users keeping real time track of their cop car locations, and want to shut that database down. I think the legal types at Google (they own Waze) should respond in a manner like this:
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Dear Chief of Police So-and-So:
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I understand that you are upset about the fact that technology can now be used to track the locations of certain people and/or vehicles, by placing publicly available location information, in real time, into a database (which in our case is publicly available, but in yours is not). Specifically, it seems that you don’t want us to know where you, the cops, are, when you’re not sucking down donuts. And I understand that you are calling on us (Google), as the representatives of the people (Wave users), to shut this down.
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But, you know, think about that for a minute. After all, you work for us (the people), right? And so, we can tell you what we want you to do to help keep us safe, and we can also tell you what we do not want you to do in order to help keep us safe. In America, you (the police, the government) are allowed to do only that which we tell you you can do — right? You do agree that is our basic concept of governance, don’t you? In contrast, we (the people) can do whatever we want to do, unless we as a community get together and decide (by passing a law) that individual community members should not be able to do something. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m not aware that we the people have, so far, gotten together and decided that we are not allowed to keep ourselves (collectively) informed as to where you are at any given time WHEN YOU ARE ON WORKING HOURS DOING THE JOB WE HIRED YOU TO DO AND FOR WHICH WE ARE PAYING YOU AND FROM WHICH JOB WE CAN FIRE YOU.
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In contrast, we (the people) have already passed a law (the Fourth Amendment) that controls and limits how you can keep track of us. You are following that law, aren’t you? You do believe it’s a good thing, don’t you?
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Or do you believe it is a legitimate law enforcement interest to keep track of innocent people’s whereabouts, at all times, in case you need to go back and look at them later should a future crime be committed? If that’s so, then we need to have a serious discussion about that issue. When are you available to meet? We’ll have a public debate, broadcast it live, and save it to the Internet in perpetuity, recording your statements as well as ours. Okay? (That’s an order, not a request, by the way – you do work for us. Show up.)
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And then there’s that argument some are making, that we citizens are afraid of you cops and so that’s why we are doing this thing of keeping track of you. Tell me, sir: Do you think that we are afraid of you? Do you think that we are afraid that if we walk on the street, not the sidewalk, we will end up dead? Do you think that we are afraid that if we sell unlicensed cigarettes, we will wind up dead? Do you think that we are afraid that if we do even something as simple as driving with expired license plates we will need to stop immediately, have our car towed, find a ride home, find a ride to the DMV to get the plates renewed, and pay huge fines to you because of that horrible, terrifying act we committed of driving an unregistered car on the street, an act that clearly made America much less safe and from which you saved (thank You, thank God!) our fellow citizens? Do you think we have any justifiable reason to be afraid of you?
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Do you think that maybe we are doing this so that we can avoid you, so that we don’t get hurt any more by you?
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Please reply. Seriously, we demand to know why you think we are doing this, so we can know what is your attitude toward the people you are supposed to protect and serve. And if you have the wrong attitude, well, then, we’re going to try to fire you.
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In summary, Chief, I note that there are no laws prohibiting what we are doing with Waze, and that there are, in fact, laws prohibiting what you are doing with license plate readers. But perhaps you needn’t worry about your future in this regard: As Tom said to Betty at the end of “Heaven Can Wait”, “There’s nothing to be afraid of.” If you’ve done nothing wrong, Mr. Policeman, then you have nothing to hide.
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Best regards,
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Those damned lawyers from Google
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http://www.dailytech.com/LAPD+Chief+Claims+Googles+Waze+Helps+CopKillers+Pushes+for+Changes+or+Ban/article37104c.htm